Minnesota Blog for Choice

Fighting Crazy with Crazy

2011-03-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

Remember a while back when I made this post about Minnesota's Pro Choice Lobby Day and the (then) latest round of anti-choice legistlation in the country? The "whole 'lotta ugly comin' at us from a neverending parade of stupid," if you will (Any Hairspray fans out there?).

One of the bills in question, HB 1, from the twisted mind of Rep. Bobby Franklin of Georgia, called for the creation of a "Uterus Police" to investigate the possible criminality of any woman's miscarriage (link in original post link above). This evening, tooling around on Feministe, my new favorite website for all kinds of feministy choice-y fun, I discovered the coolest anti-choice backlash I have yet to see.

Drawing Rep. Franklin's bill out to its [il]logical conclusion, a woman named Devery Doleman wrote him a little letter welcoming his investigation into the "potential murders going on in her pants." If, as his bill implies, "life begins at conception, and a fertilized egg is a human being with all the rights of any other citizen of the great state of Georgia, [he needs] to make sure that all egg-deaths are properly accounted for, and that all zygote-Americans receive a proper burial and an investigation into whether their deaths were caused by foul play," then every month she possibly commits a crime.

Her response to the Uterus Police? Voluntarily sending 'crime scene photos' to Rep. Franklin's office; an innocent person has nothing to hide. (Details after the jump)

Sometimes, you have to fight fire with fire.

BREAKING NEWS(?): Anti-choice legislation, strike that, LAW insults women's intelligence....

2011-03-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

I apologize for my hiatus. I am right in the thick of midterms, juggling 18 credits.

The anti-choice train has obviously been chugging along in spite of this fact.

Many many thanks to Linnea House for her update on the unfair committee practices, naturally I was incensed.

It is no secret that anti-choice language, legislation, laws, rhetoric, anything, insults a woman's intellect by suggesting that she lacks the capacity of individual thought. Had she more time, more legally mandanted time to wait, she would surely see the light and reconsider her decision to have an abortion and proceed with the pregnancy.

...Because the decision to terminate a pregnancy isn't made without sacrifice or serious consideraiton or anything...

...And it's not like the cost of abortion procedures increase the farther along a woman's pregnancy is....

SHAME on South Dakota

"Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed a law [today] requiring women to wait three days after meeting with a doctor to have an abortion, the longest waiting period in the nation."

This isn't a step in the wrong direction, this is a commercial flight from New York to California at mach 5 in the wrong direction.

This law assumes that any woman seeking an abortion takes the situation lightly. Well, Gov. Daugaard, you know what happens when people assume, right?

I think what makes me the most livid is the flippant use and abuse of language surrounding this issue, and the entire issue of Choice in general. There are very clear, medically defined distinctions between what constitutes an embryo, a fetus and a baby. I don't know what is worse, the law South Dakota passed in 2005 that mandates "women be told that an abortion will end the life of a human being," or the assumption that women are ignorant of this fact in the first place?

I am so unbelievably happy not to live in South Dakota, but Minnesota isn't doing much better.

Breaking News: Legislators can make better health decisions than you can!

2011-03-17T14:10:00.001-07:00

Linnea House, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota
Two hearings on abortion this week in the Minnesota House remove all doubt that there is a full-on war against a woman’s right to choose in Minnesota.
Hearing One
On Tuesday night, March, 15, HF 201, an abortion funding ban for low income women in Minnesota, had its first hearing in Rep. Gottwalt’s Health and Human Service Reform Committee. Despite the fact that the bill is unconstitutional, exclusively targets women struggling to make ends meet, and makes one type of health care virtually inaccessible for some women, it was hailed as a “protection of the wishes of the taxpayers.” (Rep. Peggy Scott, chief author of the bill, 3/15/11 testimony)
Rep. Scott claims that her bill does NOT address the right to abortion (the bill that does that, disguised under the cloak of fetal pain, HF 936, was heard the next day) but rather seeks to protect three groups of people: women from the pain of abortion, unborn babies from gratuitous and free abortion, and, finally, the taxpayers.
This singular statement by Rep. Scott sums up two of the largest myths perpetuated by the anti-choice movement. The first myth is that women either regret their abortions or are physically scarred by the procedure. In fact, the majority of women who choose abortion have a variety of emotional reactions but the overwhelming majority of women describe relief. In addition, an elective first trimester abortion is one the safest medical procedures a person can receive, and is far safer than carrying a pregnancy to term and delivering.
But the second myth, and the far more frustrating myth, is the idea of “gratuitous” abortions. It is insulting to all women who have experienced an unintended pregnancy, or needed to end a pregnancy due to medical reasons, to paint women in such a callous and unfeeling manner. To imply that any woman does not understand the magnitude of her decision is patronizing at best, and betrays their true feelings about women- that women cannot make decision on their own.
Despite thoughtful and eloquent testimony by Karen Law of Pro-Choice Resources and Rev. Doug Donley, the night belonged to the anti-choice legislators (primarily freshman), falling over themselves to make their statements, and thanking the MCCL for bringing this bill forward.
Their testimony ranged from Rep. Kathy Lohmer reminding us that Jesus was unintended pregnancy, Rep. Duane Quam wondering why there wasn’t there a fetus testifying tonight (clearly ignorant of the fact that it would physically impossible), Rep. Bob Barrett asking us all to thank our mothers for being pro-life (our public discourse has resorted to bumper sticker slogans? AND my Mom is pro-choice. Thanks Mom!), and the evening ended with Rep. Tara Mack claiming that this wasn’t an attack on a certain segment of the population, but rather a need to set a tone for Minnesota. I’m sure, Rep. Mack, that the women will thank you for voting to support her right to set a “tone” while stripping you of your right to control your own reproductive destiny.
Despite all of this outlandish rhetoric, the award for most out of touch of the evening goes to GOP freshman Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen. “Economically, a nation that kills its unborn children, is a nation that kills its own economic future.” While I thank Rep. Gruenhagen for reminding us that the legislature should be focusing on creating jobs and improving the economy, I think he is missing the point : there are no jobs NOW. Instead of spending the legislature’s precious time on this issue, the TAXPAYERS of Minnesota grow weary waiting for their elected officials to concentrate on fixing the economy.
But I digress. Rep. Gruenhagen called the Doe v. Gomez Minnesota Supreme Court case an activist decision, and therefore unconstitutional. He then called for the impeachment and stripping of benefits for those judges who ruled in favor of the case. Rep. Gruenhagen also blamed abortion rights for the reason why some men abuse women. Finally, Rep. Gruenhagen, at his most condescending moment of the evening, addressed those speaking out against the bill: “So, I would ask you, ladies, from the bottom of my heart, join us on the pro-life side. Help us dismantle these government programs and this culture that sends the message to men to use as many women as possible sexually, and whether you impregnated them or not, you can walk away from them without any consequences.”
That last statement is so outrageous, I don’t even know where to begin. But shortly thereafter, the bill passed out of the committee, on a vote of 13 to 4.
Watch the hearing here: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/htv/programa.asp?ls_year=87&event_id=3471. Go to 2:13:30 to catch only Rep. Gruenhagen.
Hearing Two- Second verse, similar to the first.
On Wednesday afternoon, March 16, we were back in Rep. Gottwalt’s hearing room, this time hearing HF 936, authored by Rep. Mary Liz Holberg. Instead of attacking poor women, this bill is an outright abortion ban on procedures after 20 weeks, less than 2% of all abortions. Even the bill’s authors admitted that there were fewer than 8 procedures of this type performed in Minnesota in 2009, and most were for fatal fetal anomalies.
Despite its deceptive name and nature- this is an abortion ban cloaked as protecting fetuses from feeling pain; it is an outright attack which will prevent women from receiving often life or fertility saving procedures. Not very pro-life, is it?
But no matter, their argument is all about the state knowing what is best, with nary a thought to the women or doctors who should be the ONLY ones making medical decisions.
Even Rep. Holberg, in her introduction of the bill, admitted that without the claims of so-called fetal pain, the bill just makes no sense. No argument here.
As in the hearing the night before, the anti-choice legislators took their opportunity to make outrageous statements supporting the bill, despite not really knowing what they were talking about.
The worst offender of the day goes to Rep. Bob Barrett. In response to a woman’s heartbreaking story of ending her pregnancy due to trisomy 18, a chromosome disorder that is fatal and incompatible with life, Rep. Barrett responds in the worst possible way. He first admits that he cannot even pronounce the fetal anomaly her fetus was afflicted with, and admits that it is an area that a lot of us don’t even know about, but then continues to shame her for her decision.
He says, “I went to an event last year at an organization called Pre-Natal Partners for Life. And they are a large organization that helps women and children in this condition. I had the good fortune to hear from Senator Rick Santorum talk about his personal story of a child that he had with that exact or similar condition. And he did open my eyes to the fact that a lot of these children are born and do live a life past infancy and they are happy kids and they provide joy and love and support, and they are a part of a family. And you obviously made the choice you did. I would like to inform everyone who isn’t aware of this, who isn’t aware of this organization, to check out Pre-Natal Partners for Life, because they have a wonderful organization that helps families in your situation understand this issue that a lot of people don’t understand. These babies are viable, they are important, they are God’s child. Thank you very much.”
Either Rep. Barrett wasn’t listening, or didn’t care, but this woman’s pregnancy was not going to end with a live birth. There was not going to be any life past infancy, there would be no love, joy, and support. What she found instead, was a man, who knows absolutely NOTHING about her or her health, armed with misinformation and half truths, chastising her for her decisions.
Shame on you, Rep. Barrett.
The bill passed out of committee with a majority voice vote.
Shame on Minnesota.

GOP finds common ground on the Floor

2011-03-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

Not all Republicans are anti-choice.

Not all Democrats are pro-choice, either.

Reproductive rights are at once both everyone's issue and no one's but the individual. Abortion should be legal, safe, rare and nobody's business but the woman and whoever (if anyone) she chooses to involve.

It is NOT TOO LATE to contact your representatives and let them know you choose choice and feel they should choose to protect it.

Open Letter to Senator Limmer

2011-03-08T11:41:00.001-08:00

Dear Senator Limmer,
I know that we Minnesotans are proud of our agricultural heritage, but I must remind you that 2 percent is how we talk about milk, not women.
Of course, I’m responding to your quote in the Star Tribune about a bill that would ban abortion after 20 weeks, regardless of the woman’s situation, or approximately 2 percent of abortions. You said, “If it's only 2 percent then the other side of the argument really shouldn't have a whole lot to worry about."
As a woman and as a mother, I do worry. A lot. It’s what we do. And when I read about women, and their lives, dismissed in such a way, I worry that you don’t understand what is at stake.
I worry about the young rape victim, too ashamed to admit she’s pregnant until it’s too late. I worry about the incest victim, desperately trying to raise the money for her abortion care so her family doesn’t find out. I worry about the couple with a wanted pregnancy that learns something has gone terribly wrong and that an abortion is the best option to ensure they can have children in the future. I worry about each and every woman of reproductive health age, because of politicians who want to take away their very own profoundly personal decision between that woman and her provider.
So, Senator Limmer, please remember, when you make references to 2 percent of women, you’re talking about our sisters, our nieces, our friends, and our neighbors. You could even be talking about ME.
Linnea House

Welcome to the neighborhood.

2011-03-06T19:30:00.000-08:00

Hello, Blog for Choice readers! There's a new Voice for Choice in town. I suppose you may be wondering if this blog has been hijacked given its new, first-person narration. I think an introduction is in order, especially because my first two posts were written considerably BEFORE their internet debut, which makes them seem considerably AFTER the fact, no? It's a steep learning curve, I'm discovering...for as soon as I pick my jaw off the floor, make sense of my anger and try to compose a productive, coherent post about the latest anti-choice news, something newer and more incredulous surfaces. Be that as it may....

My name is Kira. I'm a senior in college working towards a double Bachelor's degree in English and Political Science. I know those are pathetically broad terms, so I'll explain my emphases. I am a writer. I'm curious and passionate, two traits which lend themselves extremely well to observing, perceiving, documenting and trying to define and change the world around me, a world that is ever-changing and resistant to definition, which is both wonderful and maddending.

Speaking of wonderful and maddening, first of all, I find all things under the feminist/humanist umbrella wonderful: human rights, women's rights, ecomomic equality, reproductive rights, pro-choice activism, environmental activism, education, informed decision-making, equal and affordable access to healthcare. Essentially, each person taking charge of their lives, taking responsiblity for themselves and having their privacy and autonomy protected by their elected officials.

What's maddening is that recently, the security of pretty much everything I just mentioned appears to be in jeopardy. So, without an overly gratuitous, self-aggrandizing autobiography about how I came to blog about Choice in Minnesota--because trust me, my personal story will make itself known all in good time--I just wanted to say that yes, I have hijacked this blog, so to speak. But with the best intentions, I assure you! I'm here to communicate the as up-to-date-as-possible (and my full-time course load allows) current events regarding Choice in our wonderful state of Minnesota, complete with my personal flair for social commentary.

We'll be in touch!

-Kira

As Dorothy Parker would say, “Trapped like a trap in a trap.”

2011-03-03T07:46:00.000-08:00

It’s so-and-so from the office’s birthday and here comes the card. Everybody is signing it. There are loopy scrawls all over this thing. The night-janitorial staff signed it. Even the scrawny kid job-shadowing for a school project left his mark on the back corner. Do you know so-and-so personally? No. Do you sincerely hope they have a happy birthday? Not especially. Does their having spent one more year on this Earth have any bearing on your life whatsoever? Nope. What business is it of yours, really?

Up for debate during Minnesota’s 87th Legislative Session are not one, but five cards that everybody wants to get their names on. Beginning in late January and as recently as last Monday the 7th, there have been five bills—SF103, HF201, SF264, SF265, HF391—introduced by a collective 71 authors (7 DFL, 64 GOP) that are not only similar in nature, they are verbatim copies of one another.

Are you sure about that? Yes, I am positive, but read one, any or all of them if you don’t believe me. They are identical.

These bills call for a constitutional ban that would prohibit “funding for state-sponsored health programs [to be] used for funding abortions.” In this context meanings “the use of any means to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with knowledge that the termination with those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the fetus and "fetus" means any individual human organism from fertilization until birth” as defined by Minnesota Statute 144.343, subdivision 3.

Because the 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court ruling on Doe v. Gomez established that a woman’s access to and ability to afford an abortion is a fundamental right and that “any proposed legislation that includes cuts to, or complete bans on, state funding for abortion
services is blatantly unconstitutional,” these proposed legislations appear to be the groundwork for a lawsuit; a decision Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL) would prefer not be left up to the Supreme Court. “[Republicans] know that Tim Pawlenty appointed a majority to the Supreme Court that could overturn [Doe v. Gomez].”

Indeed the motivation behind these bills is dubious and unclear. If Republicans were chosen (read: voted) into majority on the premises of an agenda aimed to reboot our economy with “jobs, jobs, jobs,” then why the attack on a woman’s reproductive health, her personal business, as defined by Minnesota law? Most harshly victimized by this antichoice legislation are the low-income families who rely on state-sponsored health programs like MinnesotaCare.

Similarly, on tap for the fiscal year of 2011, on the national level, there is talk to de-fund Title X (aka the-thing-Nixon-did-right) which would virtually end Planned Parenthood as we know it. Not only do Planned Parenthood provide women with safe affordable access to abortion services, they also work tirelessly for access to preventative services as well. Services like comprehensive sex education, affordable contraception, STI/HIV screenings, all things that if de-funded would certainly cause a spike in unintended pregnancies and thus the need for abortions.

These five bills are a trap. A distraction from the larger issues facing our state. A no-win situation if you are a woman who doesn’t want to get pregnant, but can’t afford birth control or if you are a woman who is pregnant and can’t afford to be, but can’t afford not to be either.

Under the Hill - Pro-Choice Lobby Day 2011

2011-03-01T08:58:00.000-08:00

Because I happen to be an English major, bibliophile and cynic (not to mention a lobbying neophyte) I may have read too much into the location of Pro-Choice Lobby Day in the Minnesota State Capitol: underneath a staircase in a space known as the Great Hall. Even if you haven't had the change to read any of the seven installments of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, it's pretty common knowledge that the boy wizard lived in the broom cupboard under the stairs in his aunt and uncle's house. He's, well, he's different, so that's where they stashed him. I cannot shake the feeling that us reproductive rights activists, us crazy hippie liberal lobbyists were too perhaps stashed, herded into this anteroom so as not to be fully acknowledged, the Pro-Choice elephants in the room.

Regardless of however unsavory our opinions or our group, I am nonetheless indescribably heartened to be counted among the 200something men and women who showed up today. We came in passionate deense of Choice and in vehement indignation of current legislative attacks at both the local and national levels threatening it. And who else came to stand with and support us? None other than our newly elected Governor Mark Dayton, who in a gracious and brief speech assured us he has long-maintained the belief that abortion should be "safe, legal and rare" and would exercise the authority of his office so that Minnesota law reflects and upholds this credo.

Running on caffeine, adrenaline, a steady stream of carbohydrates courtesy of Bruegger's Bagels and a considerable amount of rage, we broke off into our discussions sessions. Each session--Faith-Based Communities, Intergenerational Voices, Communities of Color, Great Minnesota--aimed to create a dialogue on why they value the right to Choice, how to argue for its protection, and how the unique circumstances of those who consider themselves members of these groups are affected respectively.

Give me Intergenerational Voices, please. I wanted to hear the "old ladies," the "menopause militia" as they called themselves and what they thought of the state us pro-choicers find ourselves in today compared to pre-Roe v. Wade, where they started. In talking, we found some lingering tension between Choice advocates young and old. While my generation revels in the advent of social networking, our paltry voting records fail to convey the same anger of our Tweets and Facebook updates. Previous generations organized, marched, chanted and damnit, did they vote. Really though, we all depend on one another; we cannot risk further marginalization of our gender because of in-fighting. Have we come a long way? Yes. Do we have a long way to go? Given the recent epidemic of legislative lunacy over the past few weeks, hell yes.

For the sake of me not yanking the hair from my scalp, here is a brief overview of some anti-choice bills currently making headlines.

Live from Georgia and coming to a state near you if we aren't careful. Government or Gynecology? "According to this law, any human intervention other than delivering a living fetus is a crime....It allows an exception for spontaneous abortion [otherwise known as a miscarriage] but only if there is no human intervention involved." Enter the Uterus Police: as task force designed "to investigate miscarriages [and require that] any time a miscarriage occurs, whether in a hospital or without medical assistance, it must be reported and a fetal death certificate issued. If the cause of death is unknown, it must be investigated."

So, THOSE were the jobs the GOP were talking about.

To be fair, this bill has been indefinitely benched, and rightly so. However as this post went to press, as it were, legislation expressing similar, er, sentiments, has been introduced. Killing Abortion Providers as Justifiable Homicide. Guess which state thought this up? South Dakota, yes, THAT South Dakota.

This one just goes without saying. Horses Can't Vote, But Need Birth Control? "Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) introduced the amendment, which would control the population of wild horses and burros as an alternative to the costly practice of capturing the animals and holding them in pens....The amendment would notify the budget to bar 'funds made available by this act [from being] used for the gathers and removals of free-roaming wild horses and burros, except for the purpose of fertility control.'"

Insert off-color pun about women not being allowed to screw like wild horses.

Bringing it back home to Minnesota, here is the latest. It's Not Enough That Women Should Be Banned From Affordable Prevention, Reproduction and Abortion Services, Now They Should Be Banned From Equal Pay. What's That? They Already Only Make 75% of Their Male Colleagues' Salaries? Doesn't Matter.

The anti-choice political movement is showing its true colors this session: brown and green. Dirty Money. This issue crosses religion, party affiliation, sex, rage and occupation just as the economic downturn has affected these groups, thought not as indiscriminately. I come away from Pro-Choice Lobby Day 2011 with the conclusion that both sides are arguing effectively with money at the core of their defense.

The anti-choice majority, who not only have power, but money behind that power, may not be able to overturn Roe v. Wade, but mock a woman's legal right to make the private decision to get a safe abortion from a medical professional by chipping away at her financial rights (as well as her very financial means) to fund the procedure. They don't stop there. They defund the programs like Planned Parenthood that seek to prevent the need for abortion by way of education and contraception. I pointed this out to my state senator and even he expressed confusion and the hypocrisy of it all, but that he was pro-life and quite ignorant of the issue altogether. Because this is his first term, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but, remember how cynical I said I was? I sensed that particular brand of disengenuousness and condescension that I'm sure many of us encounter when trying to explain ourselves. Indeed, I overheard many other lobbyists experienced similarly brusque behavior, even outright hostility.

Our minority is severely underfunded. I am left wondering how legislators can take nothing from nothing, and under the guise of budget-balancing no less. The organizations that sponsor our event, like NARAL, Pro-Choice Resources and many, many more (I don't think people realize just how many organizations like these are out there, in Minnesota alone) do amazing work in the reproductive justice community and there is no money for them. I could just spit. What makes me most hopeful is that the face of pro-choice revealed its beautifully diverse self to lawmakers today as well. Kelli Clement, "one righteous lady" according to NARAL-Minnesota executive director Linnea House, represented the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice at the rally in the rotunda.

In a clear voice that I hope echoed into every room and office of the Capitol, she yelled, "I am pro-choice because of my faith, not in spite of it!" Her voice and those like it are crucial to defending Choice so that the majority is made aware of how many different constituencies they seek to alienate, but the recent attacks seem so overtly calculated that I suspect they are more than aware. Alienation breeds contempt breeds anger. Righteous anger.

Quoting Joan Baez, Kelli reminded us all that "action is the antidote to despair" and then asked, "are you going to organize your anger? Are you going to vote your anger? Are you going to nurture your anger? Nurture your anger with love, always love." When I am seething or am brought to tears by the government-perpetrated attacks to my body and to all women, I remember that I love this movement for every opportunity secured and every victory defended on my behalf. And I love taking part in the fight.

NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota looks to elect a strong pro-choice Governor for Minnesota in 2010

2010-08-30T08:37:00.002-07:00

Saint Paul, MN – Linnea House, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota, announced that her organization proudly endorsed Mark Dayton for Minnesota Governor. NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota represents over 39,000 member activists in Minnesota.
“We are proud to support a candidate that will be a strong advocate for Minnesota women. I know that he will work tirelessly to protect a woman’s right to choose,” House said.
Mark Dayton states "I am very honored to have the endorsement of NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota. I have strongly supported a woman's right to choose throughout my entire career, and am committed to protecting women's rights if I am elected Governor."
House said NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota will work hard to ensure that Dayton is elected to the Governor’s office and is confident he will represent our Minnesota values, including protecting reproductive health and freedom.
House added, “NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota is committed to doing all that we can to ensure that women in Minnesota are able to make personal, private decisions about pregnancy and parenting -- and that includes protecting safe, legal abortion and improving access to birth control. One of the best things voters can do this year is to support candidates who do the same, which is why we are encouraging voters to support Mark Dayton.”
“Opponents of a woman’s right to choose have proven time and again that they are willing to sacrifice the health and well-being of women and families to promote their extreme agenda,” House concluded. “That’s why it is so important for voters to know that Mark Dayton is the only pro-choice ticket in this race.”
Contact: Linnea House, 651-602-7655
NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota is the driving force behind the election of many pro-choice state-level candidates. The organization provides direct assistance to candidates, mobilizes its pro-choice grassroots base in targeted districts, trains candidates and volunteers, and produces and distributes the only statewide pro-choice Voters’ Guide. For more information, visit www.ProChoiceMinnesota.org

Choice News Aug. 30th

2010-08-30T08:37:00.001-07:00

Abortion Access

Anti-choice Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has issued an opinion in which he argues for stricter regulations for the state's abortion clinics. Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, said, "These so-called regulations are only an attempt to shut down abortion clinics in the Commonwealth of Virginia."

Tarina Keene discusses the regulations on the Rachel Maddow Show.

Salon's Tracy Clark-Flory comments on Cuccinelli's opinion, writing that "the great irony here is that by making it more difficult to access early abortions, the state would actually be putting women in greater danger."

The Washington Post editorial board argues that additional regulations on abortion clinics are not needed in terms of improving women's health, as Attorney General Cuccinelli claims, and that his opinion is a clear attempt to circumvent women's rights with a "regulatory sleight of hand."

RH Reality Check's Robin Marty writes that women who lack health insurance coverage are increasingly turning to dangerous do-it-yourself abortions.

Yesterday Alaska voters approved an anti-choice ballot measure that requires parental notification for minors seeking abortion care.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is seeking an injunction to prevent an aggressive anti-choice protester from entering the driveway leading to the Presidential Women's Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. This is the first time that anyone in Florida has been charged under the 1994 Federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.

Other News of Note

The Obama administration is appealing a federal district court ruling challenging the legality of the administration's guidelines on embryonic stem cell research.

Choice News August 17th 2010

2010-08-17T07:19:00.001-07:00

Contraception Access

The FDA has approved a new emergency contraceptive, marketed under the brand name ella, that is effective for up to 5 days after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure. Ella will be available by prescription only. This decision marks an ideological shift at the FDA under the Obama administration; the FDA under Bush repeatedly delayed approval to make Plan B emergency contraception available without a prescription.

Abortion Access

In response to complaints from the anti-choice group Students for Life of America, the University of North Carolina will allow students to opt-out of abortion coverage in school-sponsored health insurance plans.

Maternal Health

The Washington Post reports that fertility treatments, particularly for older women, are common in India, where giving birth to many children defines a woman's worth and is considered the best path to financial security. There are no government regulations for in vitro fertilization clinics in India.

Other News of Note

A study by University of California at Davis sociologist Bill McCarthy and University of Minnesota sociologist Eric Grodsky finds that teens who are sexually active and in committed relationships do just as well in school as abstinent teens. Salon's Mary Elizabeth Williams comments that the study's findings suggest that "plenty of people manage to embark on their sexual lives during their teens without any life-ruining consequences."

Choice News August 10th 2010

2010-08-10T14:05:00.000-07:00

2010 Elections

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow takes a look at the increasingly radical anti-choice positions of Republican Senate candidates.

The New York Times reports that the young voters who turned out for then-presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008 are more likely to skip the midterm elections than older voters.

Supreme Court Watch

Elena Kagan was sworn in as the 112th Justice, and fourth woman, to serve on the Supreme Court on Saturday.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg laments the partisanship of recent Supreme Court confirmations, and hopes that the Senate can return to a more collegial confirmation process.

Limited Service Pregnancy Centers

NARAL Pro-Choice California's Alexa Cole writes on RH Reality Check about her organization's work to uncover the deceitful practices of limited service pregnancy centers (so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" or fake clinics) in California.

An investigation by the Toronto Star reveals deceptive "counseling" practices at Canadian limited service pregnancy centers.

Abortion Access

A Louisiana clinic has filed a lawsuit challenging two new state laws restricting abortion, one that requires ultrasound exams for women seeking abortion care and one that blocks medical malpractice insurance for doctors who perform abortions.

Other News of Note

The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. girls are reaching puberty at younger and younger ages, prompting concerns about the mental and physical consequences for girls.

The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that women who work at smaller companies are guaranteed only eight weeks of unpaid maternity leave under state law. Federal law, which guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave, applies only for employees of larger companies.

Choice News Aug 9th 2010

2010-08-09T08:23:00.001-07:00

Supreme Court Watch

Yesterday the Senate voted 63-37 to confirm Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. Kagan will be the fourth woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court, and the court will for the first time have three women on the bench at once when the fall terms begins on October 4.

Politico reports that Kagan won the lowest number of "yes" confirmation votes of any Supreme Court nominee selected by a Democratic president, and predicts that confirmation fights will only become more polarized.

Stateside

The Seattle Times reports that Gov. Gregoire may take herself out of the running to replace Elena Kagan as Solicitor General.

Limited Service Pregnancy Centers

Time Magazine features an article on the deceptive practices of limited service pregnancy centers (also known as "crisis pregnancy centers" or fake clinics) and reports on NARAL Pro-Choice America and NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia's efforts to keep them honest.

Abortion Access

Sens. Tom Coburn (Okla.) and Orrin Hatch (Utah) have introduced legislation to ban federal subsidies for any insurance plan that covers abortion.

Other News of Note

A study in China found the copper IUD - marketed as ParaGard in the U.S. - to be an effective emergency contraceptive.

Choice News Aug. 5th 2010

2010-08-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court Watch

The Senate is set to vote today to confirm Elena Kagan as the fourth woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court.

US News and World Report's Mary Kate Cary writes that Kagan's confirmation will create a "critical mass" of women on the bench which could change the court's approach to its work.

Yesterday a federal judge in San Francisco struck down the discriminatory Proposition 8, a gay marriage ban that was approved by California voters in 2008, as unconstitutional. An analysis in the New York Times anticipates that this case will eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court, and suggests that the wording of the decision may box in appeals and Supreme Court justices.

As anticipated, supporters of the ban filed an appeal today with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Limited Service Pregnancy Centers

Baltimore City lawyers defended the city's law mandating that limited service pregnancy centers (also known as "crisis pregnancy centers" or fake clinics) disclose that they do not provide care or referrals for abortion or contraception in federal court yesterday. The Archdiocese of Baltimore filed a lawsuit against the law, claiming a violation of First Amendment rights. The city's chief solicitor, however, argued that the law only requires disclosure and does not require the centers to do anything contrary to the beliefs of the people who run them.

Abortion Access

Marcy Bloom, of El Grupo de Informacion en Reproduccion Elegida/The Information Group on Reproductive Choice, has a post on RH reality Check about the "tremendous discrimination, hardships, hypocrisy, lies, violence, and abuse" suffered by women and girls in the Philippines resulting from the country's ban on abortion.

Choice News Aug 4th 2010

2010-08-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

Sex Education

For the first time, the federal government has released funding announcements for sex education programs that urge states to use their sex ed dollars for programs that are inclusive of LGBT and questioning youth.

Access to Abortion

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof argues that misoprostol, which is one of the medications used for a medical abortion as well as an ulcer treatment, could provide women in underdeveloped nations an easier and safer way to access abortion care, potentially saving tens of thousands of women's lives each year.

Salon's Tracy Clark-Flory comments on Kristof's column, arguing that because misoprostol is commonly used for purposes other than abortion, it is a "Trojan Horse" in the effort to promote reproductive rights worldwide.

A study by the Center for Reproductive Health denounces the abortion ban in the Philippines, noting that the ban does not stop abortions it only makes them extremely unsafe.

Maternal Health

Time Magazine looks at the increase in c-section deliveries in the U.S. Obstetrics experts believe the procedure is being performed too often, and are looking for ways to reduce the number of c-sections.

Contraception Access

Kirsten Moore, of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project, and Aimée Thorne-Thompson, of the Pro-Choice Public Education Project, have a post on RH Reality Check advocating for over the counter sales of the birth control pill.

CNN reports that predictions vary as to whether a new campaign to encourage women to use to the female condom will be successful.

Other News of Note

The Wall Street Journal reports that states are grappling with the issue of providing social security benefits to children conceived after the death of a parent from embryos or sperm stored previously.

New York Times columnist David Leonhardt notes that in spite of gains in gender equality in the workplace, the labor market remains unequal for mothers.

Britain's Advertising Standards Authority has officially rejected more than 1,000 complaints about a commercial by reproductive healthcare provider Marie Stopes, and will allow the ad to run nationwide.

Choice News June 21st 2010

2010-06-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

Stateside

The U.S. Senate voted down an amendment that would have extended Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funding, $480 million of which state legislators depended on when they passed the budget last session. This could force the legislature to go into another special session to figure out a way to close that hole in the budget.

The Governor's budget office released a forecast showing that state lawmakers will face a $3 billion budget deficit when they return to Olympia in January to write the next two-year budget. The budget forecast also shows the state will take in $200 million less than anticipated through June 2011.

Marcy Bloom, of El Grupo de Informacion en Reproduccion Elegida/The Information Group on Reproductive Choice, has a post on RH Reality Check on our vigil for Dr. George Tiller and a reflection on his life and work.

Last week Florida Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed a bill that would have required women to undergo an ultrasound - and pay for it out of pocket - before having an abortion.

Other News of Note

An FDA panel of reproductive health experts has recommended for approval a new emergency contraceptive, Ella, that is effective up to 5 days after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure.

Politico reports that women's heath advocates see signs of momentum in improving the military's policies on reproductive health care. In February, military hospitals began stocking emergency contraception, and a Senate amendment under consideration would allow women to have abortions at military hospitals.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops denounced the group of Catholic nuns who broke ranks with the bishops in support of health care reform, and said that the nuns are responsible for the passage of the legislation. The Conference of Catholic Bishops had advocated for more draconian restrictions on abortion access.

Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson notes that Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who may be a contender for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, is inclined to be less strident on issues like abortion rights, a characteristic that alarms social conservatives within the Republican Party.

NARAL Pro-Choice America Applauds Pro-Choice Victory for Florida Women

2010-06-11T12:41:00.001-07:00

June 11, 2010
NARAL Pro-Choice America Applauds Pro-Choice Victory for Florida WomenBowing to pressure from pro-choice state lawmakers and voters,
Crist vetoes divisive legislation
Washington, DC – Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, called Gov. Charlie Crist’s veto of an anti-choice bill a victory for Florida women.
In late April, extremist anti-choice Florida legislators amended H.B.1143, which previously had no relevance to reproductive rights, to insert dangerous attacks on women’s right to privacy. The bill contains an abortion-coverage ban and a mandatory-ultrasound requirement. Crist vetoed the bill today.
"Gov. Charlie Crist did the right thing by listening to the pro-choice majority in Florida and vetoing this anti-choice bill that the state legislature rammed through at the last minute," Keenan said. "Floridians, like most Americans, are tired of lawmakers using women’s reproductive health as a bargaining chip. It’s time for politicians to stop interfering in the doctor-patient relationship."
NARAL Pro-Choice America mobilized activists in Florida, sending more than 1,200 messages to Gov. Crist urging him to veto this unprecedented anti-choice legislation.
Keenan offered a special word of thanks to Rep. Kendrick Meek, who called on Crist to reject the anti-choice bill and organized his supporters to pressure the governor to veto the bill. "We need more elected officials like Rep. Meek, who consistently do the right thing when it comes to women’s health. We know he’ll take that commitment to the Senate."
If enacted, the Florida bill would have undermined women’s health and privacy in the following ways:
It would have prohibited insurers from offering comprehensive coverage that includes abortion to most customers in the new health-insurance exchange. It would not have even had an adequate exception for cases in which the woman’s health is endangered.
It would have forced women to undergo an ultrasound before receiving abortion care, even when it is not medically necessary.
It would have required the provider to describe the ultrasound images to the woman even if she asked not to view them.

Protect and Elect Pro-Choice Brunch!

2010-06-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

The 2010 election cycle is underway, and NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota is ready to protect our pro-choice incumbents and elect a pro-choice governor!
This kind of work takes money and expertise, and we need your help to do it. I invite you to a pro-choice brunch on Saturday, June 12 to hear more about the state of choice in Minnesota and how we are going to win a true pro-choice majority and take back the governor’s office!
Please join us to support NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota’s election fund work to protect and elect a pro-choice majority in Minnesota!
Pro-Choice BrunchSaturday, June 1210:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Contribution Levels: $1,000 * $500 * $300 * $150 * $73 * $35
Please RSVP to rsvp@ProChoiceMinnesota.org, and we’ll forward you directions.
Thank you,
Linnea HouseExecutive DirectorNARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota

Choice News June 8th 2010

2010-06-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

2010 Elections

The Washington Times reports that anti-choice conservatives are eager to play a role in winning back seats in the 2010 midterm elections.

Anti-Choice Legislation

The New York Times looks at the anti-choice state laws that have passed this year and anti-choice bills currently working their way through state legislatures. Both pro-choice and anti-choice activists agree that the volume of anti-choice legislation passed this year is unusually high.

The Alaska Supreme Court ruled to allow a ballot initiative requiring parental notification for minors seeking abortion care to go on the August ballot.

Supreme Court Watch

The New York Times reports that the lead-up to Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's confirmation hearings has been unusually quiet.

Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, Jr. lauds former Supreme Court Justice David Souter for pointing out the problems with the idea of "originalism" as employed by the conservative justices on the bench.

Other News of Note

Writing for RH Reality Check, Amanda Marcotte reports on the annual anti-choice campaign, "The Pill Kills." The emphasis this year is on the exaggerated claims that birth control pills that make their way into the sea are contaminating fish with too much estrogen.

Time Magazine reports that illegal abortions are widespread in Brazil, which has a ban on the procedure except under limited circumstances.

A CDC survey finds that U.S. teenagers are more accepting of teen pregnancy and pregnancy outside of marriage.

CHoice News June 3rd 2010

2010-06-03T06:53:00.001-07:00

Stateside

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, currently running for Senate as an Independent, is considering vetoing legislation that would require women to have an ultrasound before having an abortion. However, the issue has the potential to be a "political landmine" for his Senate campaign.

The Oklahoma legislature failed to override a veto of a bill that would have banned health insurance coverage for abortion care. However, seven other anti-choice bills were passed into law this year, including the strictest ultrasound requirement in the country and a law that protects doctors who withhold information about a pregnancy that they think might cause women to decide to have an abortion.

Other News of Note

A CDC study found an increase in the percentage of teenage girls who report using the rhythm method for birth control, which may help explain the uptick in teen pregnancy rates in recent years.

ABC's "World News" reports on the excommunication of a Catholic nun who approved a woman's life-saving abortion.

The Nation's Katha Pollitt responds to an LA Times op-ed that argues that the pro-choice movement needs a conceptual makeover.

Choice News June 2nd 2010

2010-06-02T07:23:00.000-07:00

Abortion Care

Monday marked one year since Kansas abortion provider Dr. George Tiller was killed by an anti-choice extremist. RH Reality Check features TrustWomenPAC's Julie Burkhart's reflections on Dr. Tiller's life and work.

Access to Reproductive Health Care

AlterNet features a story on limited service pregnancy centers (also known as "crisis pregnancy centers" or fake clinics) and their dangerous and deceitful practices.

Politico reports on Planned Parenthood's efforts to have birth control included in the list of free preventive services that health insurers must cover as federal regulators make decisions about the implementation of the health care reform law.

The LA Times reports that more women are being denied reproductive health care due to hospital policies based on ideological beliefs.

Mexico's Supreme Court has upheld a law requiring hospitals to offer rape victims emergency contraception, also known as the morning after pill.

Supreme Court Watch

The Senate Judiciary Committee is awaiting more than 160,000 pages of documents from Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's tenure in the Clinton White House.

Other News of Note

In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, Jessica Valenti argues that contrary to her recent rhetoric, Sarah Palin is no feminist.

An opinion piece in the LA Times delves more deeply into recent public opinion polls on voter attitudes about the right to choose.

Thank Majority Leader Reid for standing up against clinic violence!

2010-05-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

Dr. Tiller's murder a year ago on May 31 was a staggering reminder of the dangers abortion providers, their staff, and patients face every day. Taunts, harassment, and threats of physical violence are a reality for those who provide women's reproductive-health care.
It's terrifying. And it's unacceptable. That's why today, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) honored Dr. Tiller's memory by speaking out against clinic violence from the floor.

Tell Majority Leader Reid "thank you" for honoring Dr. Tiller's legacy.

Choice News May 28th 2010

2010-05-28T07:47:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court Watch

Memos from Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's clerkship with Justice Thurgood Marshall express concern that a conservative court would be a detriment to women's rights.

Stateside

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry vetoed a bill that would have banned insurance coverage for abortion except under limited circumstances in the new insurance exchanges. This is the fourth veto Gov. Henry has issued on abortion-related legislation this year; the last three vetoes were overridden by the Republican-controlled legislature.

Contraception

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the oral contraceptive pill is the most popular form of birth control worldwide.

A report from the CDC also found that women and their male partners are increasingly using male condoms when they have sex for the first time. This trend may explain the decline in the teenage birth rate over the past few decades.

Time Magazine reports that emergency contraception (also known as the morning-after pill) is gaining in popularity among urban India's increasingly educated women.

Other News of Note

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof calls the Catholic Church's excommunication of a nun who was part of a hospital's ethics committee that voted to allow a woman to have a life-saving abortion "morally obtuse."

Writing for the Nation, Lynn Harris reports on the disturbing trend of reproductive coercion, when a man tries to force his female partner to become pregnant as a means of control. Harris argues that addressing this kind of intimate partner violence must be a part of the strategy for reducing teen pregnancy rates.

Teen pregnancy rates in Canada have dropped by 37% over the last decade. Researchers point to sexual health education and increased access to birth control as part of the reason for the decline.

In response to public outcry, the American Academy of Pediatrics has pulled back from its recommendation, issued last month, that doctors be given permission to perform a ceremonial pinprick or nick on girls if it would prevent their families from sending them abroad for female genital mutilation.

Senate Committee Votes to Repeal Discriminatory Abortion Ban Targeting Military Women

2010-05-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

Washington, DC - Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, called a Senate committee’s vote to lift a ban on abortion services for military women an important step forward for women’s freedom and privacy.
Late Thursday members of the Senate Armed Services Committee approved　an amendment　offered by Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) to repeal a law that forbids servicewomen and female military dependents from using their own money for abortion services at overseas military hospitals.
This repeal does not mean the Department of Defense would have to pay for abortion services. It would simply lift the current ban on privately funded abortion care at U.S. military facilities overseas.
"We commend the committee for moving forward to end a policy that denies health-care options to women serving in the military, even when they use their own money," Keenan said. "Women in the military should have access to the same quality care available to women in our country. Signing up to serve in the armed forces shouldn’t cause women to lose health-care options if they’re stationed overseas. We look forward to working with our allies in the Senate to protect this progress when the bill goes to the full Senate."
Keenan also said that, according to the Pentagon, the number of reported sexual assaults in the military increased significantly over the past few years. The most recent data indicate that the trend may be leveling off. However, sexual assaults in the military remain a major cause for concern, thus underscoring the need for women in the military to have access to a full range of reproductive-health services.
For more information on this topic, you may find our fact sheet at ProChoiceAmerica.org.

Choice News May 26th edition

2010-05-26T09:28:00.001-07:00

Supreme Court Watch
A large anti-choice group, Americans United for Life, is seeking a delay in the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan in order to provide the Clinton library time to find and make public her key writings while she was a White House lawyer, and later a domestic policy aide.
2010 Elections
Anti-choice Dino Rossi, who failed to unseat Gov. Gregoire twice, is expected to announce his candidacy this week against pro-choice U.S. Senator Patty Murray.
The stranger reports on Rossi's history of avoidance when it comes to discussing his stance on reproductive rights and choice.
The Los Angeles Times reports that GOP Senate candidate Tom Campbell from California is facing opposition in seeking his party's nomination because of his more moderate social policy views.
Stateside
Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry on Saturday vetoed a bill that would have required women to provide personal information, including answering questions about their relationships, before getting an abortion.
However, the Oklahoma state House voted Monday to override the veto, and an override vote is expected in the Senate this week as well.
RH Reality Check reports on the anti-choice legislation passed in the Missouri state Legislature this session.
Legislators in Kansas have put a line item into the state budget reallocating $2.4 million in federal family-planning funding to hospitals and primary or preventative care clinics. This would leave any reproductive health-specific organizations like Planned Parenthood without state funding.
A limited service pregnancy center (often referred to as a "crisis pregnancy center") in Montgomery County, MD is suing the County over the recent Baltimore ordinance that requires the centers to post signs that disclose that they do not provide abortion care or abortion referrals.
Other News of Note
Publicola reported on our Power of Choice Luncheon yesterday, where we gave Publicola News Editor Erica Barnett a Power of Choice Award. Publicola also covered the audible hissing from the audience when anti-choice U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert was mentioned in a speech at the luncheon.
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan writes a piece for the Huffington Post in remembrance of Dr. George Tiller, a late-term abortion provider who was murdered a year ago this week.
A principal at a school in Norfolk, VA is under investigation after dolls depicting fetuses were given to students.
BBC News reports that statistics indicate that the abortion rate in the UK is declining, but experts caution that it is still too early to say there is a downward trend.

One Year Later: Honoring Dr. George Tiller

2010-05-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

Nancy Keenan, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, published the following blog post on the Huffington Post titled, "One Year Later: Honoring Dr. George Tiller." The one-year anniversary of his murder is next Monday, May 31.

And here is a snippet:
We are days away from marking the one-year anniversary of the Sunday morning Scott Roeder walked into Dr. George Tiller's church in Kansas and shot him at close range.
After his murder, many women and men came to our blog to express their appreciation for what Dr. Tiller had done for their sisters, wives, relatives, and friends. Many of these women had found themselves in desperate and heart-breaking circumstances and turned to Dr. Tiller in their time of need.
Karen from Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania gives us one example of what Dr. Tiller meant to women:
Dr. Tiller, you saved my niece Jeanette's life, you helped our family through one of the darkest, most desperate and unthinkable moments we ever experienced. When we thought there was no where to turn, there you were. I called you the 'Wizard', because of the incredible journey we had taken to find you, in Kansas. You are, and will always be my Hero.
It makes me angry when I think about how Roeder sat through his trial without showing any remorse for his actions. He reached new lows of callousness and disrespect for the Tiller family and for families like Karen's. It's equally infuriating that the same people who spent years harassing Dr. Tiller and his patients outside his health center showed no remorse. They rejected the notion that their pattern of inflammatory rhetoric could lead to violence by the more extreme elements of their own anti-choice movement.

Here is the link to the full piece: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-keenan/one-year-later-honoring-d_b_587040.html

Choice News, May 20th 2010

2010-05-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court Watch
Womens E-news reports on how the midterm elections could potentially affect the confirmation process for nominee Elena Kagan.
Elections 2010
A signature drive began yesterday to get Initiative 1098, the high earners income tax, on the November ballot. It would be the first tax reform measure to be on the ballot in 40 years.
Stateside
RH Reality Check provides more commentary on the anti-choice bill passed by the Louisiana state Legislature on Tuesday to mandate an ultrasound for all women before they can receive abortion care.
Pro-choice advocates in Kansas are urging Governor Mark Parkinson to veto an anti-choice bill that would prevent the state from paying Planned Parenthood to provide services to low-income residents. Gov. Parkinson vetoed a similar bill last year.
Other News of Note
A controversial new television advertisement will begin airing next week in the UK, and is designed to provide women with information on abortion and other related services.
New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Nicholas Kristof writes about the negative effects from the unavailability of birth control in many poor countries.
RH Reality Check reports on the negative impact that the new immigration law in Arizona is having on women and their children.

Choice News, May 19th 2010

2010-05-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court Watch

The confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan will begin on June 28 and will conclude before the July 4th recess.

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee asking that committee members press Solicitor General Kagan on her views on abortion rights.

Stateside

The Louisiana Senate passed a bill requiring women seeking an abortion to first undergo an ultrasound. The measure is now headed to the House, where it is expected to pass.

The Louisiana House rejected a bill that would have required schools to teach comprehensive sex education.

Other News of Note

Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), an advocate of abstinence outside of marriage, resigned after admitting that he has been having an affair with one of his staffers.

Elle Magazine looks at efforts to increase men's legal rights in cases where their partner becomes pregnant and the two disagree on whether to have an abortion or carry the pregnancy to term.

Choice News, May 18th 2010

2010-05-18T12:55:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court Watch
President Obama's advisors say he has no doubt that Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan is a legal progressive who will maintain the current balance of the court if confirmed to replace the retiring liberal Justice John Paul Stevens. However, with the constitutional right to an abortion hanging in the balance, Kagan's record is giving pause to both sides.
Stateside
The AP reports that anti-choice legislators and activists are taking advantage of the provision of the federal health care reform law that permits state legislatures to prohibit all insurance coverage for abortion care in the new insurance exchanges. Arizona and Tennessee have already passed laws banning abortion coverage in the exchanges; in Florida, Mississippi and Missouri, lawmakers have passed similar bans that await their governors' signatures. Overall, 29 states legislatures have expressed interest in banning abortion coverage in the exchanges.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist is leaning strongly toward vetoing an anti-choice bill that would require women to get an ultrasound before receiving abortion care.
Other News of Note
RH Reality Check provides context and commentary on new Gallup poll results that showed a drop in support for legal abortion among young people.
New York Times writer Laura Holson notes that unmarried, successful women in their 40s and 50s, like Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, still need to "explain" why they are single.

Choice News, Friday May 14th 2010

2010-05-14T07:48:00.000-07:00

Choice News Wed, May 13 2010

2010-05-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court Watch

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Penn.), facing a tough primary next week, called Solicitor General Elena Kagan a "good candidate" for the Supreme Court after his meeting with her. As a Republican, Sen. Specter voted against Kagan's confirmation to her current post.

The New York Times looks at the ways that Republicans and Democrats are using the Supreme Court nomination as a campaign issue for the midterm elections.

The Seattle Times has more on the reports that Gov. Chris Gregoire is on the short list to replace Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan as Solicitor General. Should Gov. Gregoire leave the governor's office, Lt. Gov. Brad Owen would become governor. Depending on when the vacancy occurs, there are several election protocols to elect a new governor.

State Auditor Brian Sonntag says he will run for governor in the event that Gov. Gregoire becomes the Solicitor General.

2010 Elections

The Washington Post looks at the Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-choice counterpart to EMILY's List, and their goal of unseating Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) over the health care reform legislation. The group is working to elect anti-choice Republican Sue Lowden.

The Washington Beverage Association has filed paperwork for two versions of a ballot initiative to repeal the new taxes on soda, bottled water, candy, gum and certain kinds of processed foods. One of the versions would also repeal the tax on mass-market beer.

Other News of Note

RH Reality Checks features an article on the different generations within the reproductive rights and justice movement, and the importance of working together to achieve reproductive freedom for all women.

Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) introduced the Global Moms Act, which calls for the development of a comprehensive strategy, as part of the Global Health Initiative, to reduce mortality and improve the health of mothers and newborns in developing countries.

Time Magazine reports on the controversy over the American Academy of Pediatrics' change of position on female genital mutilation. The organization has decided to explore allowing American doctors to perform a ceremonial pinprick, or small nick, on young girls if it would keep their families from pursuing mutilation.

Supreme Court Watch

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan is meeting with members of the Senate in advance of her confirmation hearing.

Politico reports on additional memos drafted by Elena Kagan during the Clinton administration, including one in 1998 in which she advised President Clinton not to try to expand Medicare coverage of abortion to include cases where the health of the woman is in danger, in part to avoid a fight with Republicans.

RH Reality Check's Jodi Jacobson is disappointed that Kagan's career in the Clinton White House appears to be marked by political pragmatism when it came to women's rights.

Liberal Democratic senators are trying to reassure progressives that Solicitor General Kagan is a "Democrat's Democrat."

Gov. Chris Gregoire is on President Obama's short list to replace Elena Kagan as Solicitor General, assuming Kagan is confirmed for the Supreme Court.

Gov. Gregoire says she has no plans to leave office for Washington, DC.

Stateside

An Oklahoma bill requiring a woman seeking an abortion to provide marital status, reasons for ending the pregnancy, whether she is currently receiving public assistance and whether the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest is headed to the governor's desk.

Choice News

2010-05-12T07:11:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court Watch

President Obama nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. The Washington Post reports that abortion may be the "sleeper issue" of the confirmation; in 1997, she penned a memo to President Clinton in support of a compromise on the ban on late-term abortion.

The Stranger notes that Solicitor General Kagan does not have much of a paper trail with regard to her position on the right to choose, and quotes NARAL Pro-Choice Washington executive director Lauren Simonds as eager to know more about her stance on reproductive rights.

The New York Times profiles Solicitor General Kagan, noting that she has been careful throughout her life not to reveal too much about herself or her beliefs in order to position herself where she is today.

New York Times columnist Linda Greenhouse urges Solicitor General Kagan to reveal her positions on the issues of the day, as Kagan herself urged judicial nominees to do in an article she wrote in 1995.

Syndicated columnist Ruth Marcus writes that if confirmed, Solicitor General Kagan's ascent to the Supreme Court most likely marks the end of the time when women comprised only one or two seats on the court

The New York Times looks at the differences between Supreme Court nominations made by Republican and Democratic presidents.

Health Care Reform

The Washington Post reports that the federal health care reform legislation may reignite debate over what services medical professionals can refuse to provide.

The New York Times looks at the funding for comprehensive sexual health education programs that is included in the health care reform law.

Other News of Note

New York Times columnist Gail Collins has a piece commemorating the 50th anniversary of the birth control pill.

The Washington Post reports that some women are seeking alternatives to oral contraceptives.

Anti-choice hardliner Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) has an op-ed in Newsweek about his strained relationship with the anti-choice movement over health care reform negotiations.

Pro-choice Connie Saltonstall has pulled out of the race to replace Rep. Stupak, who is not seeking re-election.

Pre-term births are on the decline in the U.S. for the second year in a row, although the U.S. still has a higher pre-term birth rate than other developed countries.

Ensure a fair hearing for Solicitor General Kagan for Supreme Court

2010-05-10T10:28:00.001-07:00

President Obama nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Solicitor General Kagan has a sound record of legal accomplishment, and we look forward to learning more about this nominee.
The future of women’s access to abortion hangs in the balance. The last two major choice-related cases were decided by a five-to-four margin, and retiring Justice John Paul Stevens is one of the Supreme Court’s strongest supporters of the right to choose. His departure could create a vacuum on the Court, and our opponents are going to do everything in their power to obstruct the confirmation process.
We will not allow attacks on the right to privacy to go unanswered. Tell your senators that Solicitor General Kagan deserves a fair hearing that includes questions about Roe v. Wade.

Choice News

2010-05-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court Watch
With the expectation that President Obama will announce his nominee in the coming days, CNN provides summaries of the four judges who are believed to be finalists for the nomination.
Stateside
RH Reality Check provides a round up of the week in choice-related legislation in state legislatures.
Contraception
The FDA has approved a new birth control pill, which is already licensed in Europe, that is the first four-phase oral contraceptive in the U.S.
MSNBC features a story that recounts how the birth control pill has changed various women's lives.
Francine Coeytaux, writing for RH Reality Check, honors Mother's Day and the 50th anniversary of the birth control pill with her story about how modern contraception has shaped her life, and a call to action to ensure that it is accessible to all women.
Other News of Note
The American Academy of Pediatrics is suggesting that a ceremonial pin prick by doctors should be authorized by the United States to prevent the families of some newborn girls from taking them to their home country to undergo Female Genital Mutilation (F.G.M.). Critics argue that such a policy would create confusion about whether F.G.M. is acceptable in any form, and that it is the wrong step forward on how best to protect young women and girls.

Todays Choice News

2010-05-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court Watch

An ABC News/Washington Post poll finds that a clear majority of Americans want President Obama to select a Supreme Court nominee who supports the right to choose.

Newsweek reports on the likelihood that President Obama will appoint a woman to the Supreme Court.

The Seattle Times reports on fears that President Obama will nominate a more moderate justice to the Supreme Court.

Stateside

Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson has agreed to a court order requested by abortion providers to temporarily block enforcement of a new anti-choice state law, which requires women to get an ultrasound and hear a detailed description of the fetus before having an abortion.

The Kansas state House voted to override a veto by Governor Mark Parkinson on anti-choice legislation that would place additional restrictions on abortion care after 20 weeks. The Senate will now vote on the override, but has previously not been able to pass similar veto overrides.

The Pennsylvania House Education Committee voted to approve age appropriate sex education in all public schools, an important first step in mandating comprehensive sex education.

Bill Gates, Sr. has an op-ed in the Seattle Times in which he advocates in support of establishing a high-earners income tax. He writes that the initiative would make the state's tax system more equitable and would benefit middle class families and small businesses.

Ashley Sayeau, writing for the U.K. Guardian, provides commentary on the recent anti-choice laws in several states, and why they disrespect women's feelings and medical needs.

Health Care and Abortion Coverage

According to a new study from the Guttmacher Institute, most women who receive abortion care pay for it out of pocket, with private insurers covering just 12% of the cost.

According to another recent report from the Guttmacher Institute, women living in poverty make up an increasing share of patients who seek abortion care, with a staggering 60% increase within this demographic over eight years.

Conservative Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson argues against Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's call for Canada's G-8 summit on improving maternal health to include a provision on abortion access, yet he argues for access to contraception in order to protect the health of women who are likely to have dangerous pregnancies.

Contraception

As the United States celebrates the 50th anniversary of the birth control pill, the Seattle Times reports on the continuing need for better contraception.

Other News of Note

Rocio Cordoba, writing for RH Reality Check, discusses why separate schools for pregnant or parenting youth of color in California are unequal and discriminatory.

First Response, a company that makes pregnancy, ovulation and fertility test kits, is introducing a web-only reality series on TLC.com about 5 women who are trying to conceive.

Random Choice News

2010-05-03T08:31:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court Watch
The Wall Street Journal discusses why pro-choice potential Supreme Court nominee Diane Wood would be a strong voice for women's rights on the Court. (Curiously, the article states that recent nominees have had unknown records on the right to choose, despite Justice Alito's established track record in opposition to a woman's right to choose prior to his nomination to the Supreme Court.)

Stateside
The Florida state Senate voted to ban abortion coverage in the new health care exchange, while at the same time requiring women seeking an abortion to pay out of pocket for an ultrasound.
The San Jose Mercury News has an editorial condemning the new anti-choice laws in Oklahoma.
CNN features an opinion piece from Mary Alice Carr, Vice President for Communications at the National Institute for Reproductive Health, which discusses how the new anti-choice laws in Oklahoma take away a woman's right to full, honest information from her doctor.
New York Times op-ed columnist Gail Collins cites Oklahoma's latest anti-choice laws as an example of recent extreme state legislation.

Other News of Note
Aimée Thorne-Thomsen writes for RH Reality Check about why access to safe and legal abortion is a matter of trusting women and wanting them to have access to all the information, services and resources necessary to make the best decisions for themselves and their families.
Laura Bush has written a memoir, Spoken from the Heart, in which she briefly reiterates her belief that abortion is a private decision.

Choice news in brief

2010-04-23T13:53:00.001-07:00

Supreme Court Watch
The Washington Post provides a profile of potential Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
Health Care and Abortion Coverage
NPR reports on how the new health care reform law will improve insurance coverage for women.
Stateside
Governor Gregoire will sign the multimillion-dollar revenue package today that was passed by state lawmakers last week.
Ms. Magazine reports on the anti-choice bill that is awaiting the Governor's signature in Tennessee, and would make the state the first to explicitly ban coverage of abortion care under the new health care reform insurance exchanges.
RH Reality Check provides a roundup of anti-choice bills in Louisiana and Virginia.

Other News of Note
In recognition of April as National STD Awareness month, RH Reality Check provides a series about the importance of STD prevention and treatment in the United States.
RH Reality Check features another reaction to the recent Newsweek article about the involvement of young people in the pro-choice movement.

Random Choice News

2010-04-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court Watch:
MSNBC highlights the latest news surrounding President Obama's commitment to nominating a Supreme Court justice that will u phold women's rights and privacy.
The New York Times provides a profile of Diane Wood, a potential pro-choice nominee for the Supreme Court.
Health Care and Abortion Coverage:
RH Reality Check features an article that dispells the myths and misperceptions surrounding Emergency Contraception (EC).
2010 Elections:
Politico reports on the anti-choice organizations that are planning a multimillion-dollar elections campaign to oust anti-choice Democrats who voted for health care reform.
The Olympian discusses the legal hurdles that I-1077 will face in proposing a high earners income tax on the November ballot.
Stateside:
Georgia lawmakers have advanced an anti-choice bill that is designed to challenge Roe v. Wade by prohibiting physicians from providing abortions to women who have been "coerced" into the procedure, and by banning abortions based on the race or gender of the fetus.
Pro-choice advocates in New York are trying to update the state's law legalizing abortion by moving it from the penal code into the public health law where a woman's rights and privacy can be better protected.
The Virginia General Assembly approved Governor Robert McDonnell's proposal to restrict all state funding for abortion, except in the case of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman is in danger. This law will have broader implications in restricting all women's access to abortion care in Virginia.

Gov. Pawlenty declares April as Abortion Recovery Month

2010-04-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

Gov. Pawlenty declared April as Abortion Recovery Month. Linnea House of NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota responded: “I was hoping the governor’s proclamation was an April Fool’s Day joke last week, but unfortunately, it is very real." She further stated: "Clearly, this proclamation is truly nothing more than Gov. Pawlenty pandering to the anti-choice organizations in the state." For more on NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota's statement and the full text of the proclamation, follow the link.

http://minnesotaindependent.com/57436/critics-call-pawlentys-abortion-recovery-month-pure-politics

Call on President Obama to Nominate a Pro-Choice Justice

2010-04-09T14:08:00.001-07:00

Justice John Paul Stevens’ retirement means that we will lose one of the strongest supporters of the right to choose from the Supreme Court.
Our anti-choice opponents are already using this vacancy to rally their base. The unfounded insults and personal attacks are only going to get worse.
We need to fight back against the anti-choice rallying cry, beginning with letting President Obama know what we expect. Join me in calling on President Obama to say no to the right wing.
Please take this time to call on President Obama to nominate a Pro-Choice Justice.

We stopped Stupak!

2010-04-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

Rep. Bart Stupak has announced he will not run for re-election opening the door for a Pro-Choice candidate to replace him. NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC endorsed Connie Saltonstall, who is running to replace Rep. Stupak in Michigan's 1st Congressional District, Saltonstall got in the race specifically because of her dedication to standing up for women’s reproductive rights!

Since this race is obviously not in Minnesota we won't be directly involved in getting Saltonstall elected but for more info and what you can do to help, please read this statement from NARAL Pro-Choice America:

Nation's Two Leading Pro-Choice Groups Back Candidate Challenging Rep. Bart Stupak

NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC, Planned Parenthood Action Fund Endorse Primary Challenger Connie Saltonstall in Michigan's 1st Congressional District

Washington, D.C. — NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, today announced their respective endorsements of Connie Saltonstall, who is challenging anti-choice incumbent Rep. Bart Stupak in the Democratic primary in Michigan's 1st Congressional District.
"We are proud to put the support of our PAC behind Connie Saltonstall in this pivotal primary race," said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. "The voters in Michigan's 1st District are looking for an alternative to Bart Stupak. For years, he has attacked women's freedom and privacy and, for the last several months, seized the national spotlight as he held health care reform hostage to his anti-choice political views. The clock is ticking on Mr. Stupak's '15 minutes of fame.' We will work to put an end to Mr. Stupak's divisiveness and replace him with a leader like Connie, who represents Michigan's mainstream values."
"The Planned Parenthood Action Fund is proud to endorse Connie Saltonstall for U.S. representative," said Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. "Connie is a passionate advocate for women and their reproductive rights and has a strong record of promoting and protecting women's health."
Saltonstall, who is a mediator and board member of North Community Mediation, serves as board president of Hospice of Northwest Michigan and recently completed a three-year term on the Charlevoix County Commission on Aging. In 2008, Saltonstall ran for Michigan state representative in the 105th District. In 2006, she served as Charlevoix County commissioner.
As a U.S. representative, Saltonstall will work to improve access to quality health care for women, support and protect a woman's right to choose, strengthen comprehensive sex education to keep our young people healthy and safe, and invest in prevention programs, including family planning services and breast cancer screenings.
"Clearly it's time for change in Michigan's 1st Congressional District," said Sarah Scranton, executive director of PP Advocates of MI. "Michigan voters deserve a representative like Connie Saltonstall who will put their commonsense health care needs ahead of ideology and politics."
"Connie Saltonstall is a champion for women, women's health and choice who will be an active proponent for the women and families of Michigan. She will work to ensure that women's health is a priority on the congressional agenda," said Richards.
Saltonstall is running against Rep. Bart Stupak, an anti-choice representative, who drew the ire of women over his attempts to restrict individuals from using their own money to buy health insurance that included abortion coverage. During the health care debate, Rep. Stupak continuously tried to block health care reform unless the Stupak abortion coverage ban was adopted. Fortunately, Rep. Stupak failed in his attempt to insert the Stupak abortion coverage ban in the final health care reform bill.
The primary election will be held on August 3.
For more information about the race, visit www.ProChoiceAmerica.org/Saltonstall.

Justice Stevens to retire.

2010-04-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

Justice Stevens is retiring! We need to be prepared to help Choose Justice when President Obama names a replacement! The anti’s won’t make this easy and we have to be prepared to do what it takes to help seat a Pro-Choice Justice! Stevens eventual replacement will be the Justice that keeps the balance of the Supreme Court leaning towards the right to choose and we cannot let that scale tip by one single degree!
Sign up to volunteer today to help us Choose Justice!
For more on Justice Stevens retirement please read the following statement from NARAL Pro-Choice America’s President Nancy Keenan:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2010
Statement of Nancy Keenan, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, on Justice John Paul Stevens’ Retirement from the Supreme Court
"NARAL Pro-Choice America salutes Justice John Paul Stevens' commitment to public service. Stevens is among the strongest supporters of the right to choose currently serving on the Supreme Court, and his retirement serves as yet another stark reminder of the important role the Court plays in our everyday lives.
"Stevens consistently voted to uphold American liberties, as set forth in the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. His record reflects a respect for individual freedom and opposition to political interference in our most personal, private decisions. Stevens' retirement now gives President Obama the opportunity to nominate a fair-minded individual who, like him and the majority of Americans, supports the constitutional right to privacy as reflected in Roe.
"The nine-member Court includes two Justices, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, who have voted to overturn Roe, and two more members, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, whom President Bush appointed because he wanted Justices who reflected the Scalia-Thomas mold.
"Given the current composition of the Court, we will assess the eventual nominee's complete record on privacy and other relevant issues in the same way we did during Justice Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation process. Unlike Chief Justice Roberts or Justice Alito, Justice Sotomayor articulated several times throughout her hearing that the constitutional right to privacy includes the right to choose, and thus we supported her nomination for a seat on the nation's highest court.
"One thing is certain: opponents of women's freedom and privacy will use this vacancy on the Court as an opportunity to further their attacks on nominees who have taken pro-choice positions. America's pro-choice majority will fight back.
"This vacancy could make choice an even more prominent issue in the 2010 mid-term congressional elections. Americans will be watching to make sure senators understand the need for a Justice who respects a woman's ability to make the personal, private decisions that are best for her and her family."
Additional Resources:
More information about Justice Stevens' decisions on choice-related cases.
Information about the Supreme Court's decisions on key cases related to reproductive rights.

An abortion ban by any other name. . . .

2010-04-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

Anti-choice strategists are increasingly using "personhood" measures to try to ban abortion in states like Missouri. So add this one to your vocab: "personhood" measure = abortion ban. Please share this post with your friends to spread the word about this anti-choice tactic.

For greater details check out NARAL Pro-Choice America's Blog For Choice:
http://www.blogforchoice.com/archives/2010/04/personhood-move.html

Will The Lilith Tour Fund Crisis Pregnancy Centers? | RHRealityCheck.org

2010-04-01T08:58:00.001-07:00

Will The Lilith Tour Fund Crisis Pregnancy Centers? | RHRealityCheck.org

Posted using ShareThis

Census Trivia!

2010-03-29T14:07:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to fill out your census forms and send them in, it only takes a few minutes. The state of Minnesota loses $10,000 for every person not counted. These funds pay for healthcare, tution, and roads. Confused about which address to use if your a student? Fill out the form using the address you hang your tooth brush at every night.

For some interesting info on the census, play Census Trivia

Health Care and Abortion Coverage

2010-03-29T10:18:00.001-07:00

Late last night the House approved the final vote on the changes to the health care reform bill. The measure now goes to President Obama's desk.

Anti-choice Rep. Bart Stupak, who has come under fire by advocates as well as opponents of the right to choose, responds to Kathleen Parker's column in the Washington Post. He writes, "The pro-life groups rallied behind me -- many without my knowledge or consent -- not necessarily because they shared my goals of ensuring protections for life and passing health-care reform but because they viewed me as their best chance to kill health-care legislation."

NPR's "Morning Edition" reports that after the health care vote, the partnership between anti-choice Republicans and anti-choice Democrats may have ended.

The Washington Post profiles Bob Bauer, President Obama's in-house counsel whose task was to broker a deal between with anti-choice Democrats to secure enough votes to pass health care reform.

In a Newsweek opinion piece, Sarah Kliff takes a look at the argument that Democrats are indebted to pro-choice advocates after the health care reform deal.

Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, writes on the Huffington Post that we need more pro-choice members of Congress in order to prevent attacks on the right to choose like the Nelson language in the health care reform package.

In a setback, the health care reform package includes a provision that restores $250 million over five years for states to sponsor abstinence-only sex "education" programs.

"Be Counted" Census Day of Action

2010-03-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

Neighbor to Neighbor Outreach in Minneapolis and St. Paul

SUNDAY, MARCH 28th @ NOON
Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation312 Central Ave.

With special guests: Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and
U.S. Representative Betty McCollum

Join others in your community to knock on doors raising awareness about the census. Help us make sure that everyone is counted in your community. The Census Bureau estimates that for every person not counted, your community would lose $10,000 in federal funding for schools, roads, public safety and medical care. Census Day is April 1st – please join us!

Tell Congress: Abstinence-only-until-marriage programs ARE NOT health Care Reform!

2010-03-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

Today, details of the Reconciliation Act of 2010 were released, the latest version of the health care reform legislation, in a bid to create a package that will pass both the House and the Senate. Included in the final bill was the Personal Responsibility Education program, providing $75 million for a state grant program for more comprehensive approaches to sex education, which would be geared to evidence-based, medically accurate, age-appropriate programs to educate adolescents about both abstinence and contraception in order to prevent unintended teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV/AIDS. However, the final bill also reinstated the failed Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage funding program, which directs $50 million a year to states to spend on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. Funding for the Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage program lapsed on June 30, 2009, and had not been renewed.
But it's not too late for Congress to take action! Tell Congress to remove Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage funding from health care reform.
First, call House and Senate leadership right now and tell them:

"Remove the extension for the failed Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage program from health care reform. Health care reform should not fund programs that put young people’s health and lives at risk by denying them life-saving information."

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi: 202.225.4965
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: 202.224.3542

Another Supreme Court nomination fight?

2010-03-17T07:30:00.001-07:00

Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, leader of the court's liberal-leaning wing, says he will decide within a month whether he will retire or stay on the court for another term. He is the longest-serving justice on the bench, and will turn 90 next month.

Thank you Dr. Boyd!

2010-03-17T07:22:00.000-07:00

After the murder of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller last year, Dr. Curtis Boyd, of New Mexico, has announced that he will start performing late-term abortions. He has hired two physicians who used to work Dr. Tiller on a rotating basis; all three have been the targets of threats in the past, and in 2007 Dr. Boyd's office was set on fire.

The number of providers in the U.S. has continued to drop due to lack of training and fear of retaliation by medical proffesionals. So it's extremely good news when we hear about a doctor who is willing to take the extra step to make sure women can get the care they need in these rare late term cases.

Good Friday Solidarity Event April 2nd!

2010-03-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

Each year on Good Friday over 1,000 anti-choice protesters descend upon Planned Parenthood’s Highland Park clinic. They carry graphic signs, as well as harass and intimidate the women (and men) using Planned Parenthood’s many services.
Planned Parenthood has been providing accessible, affordable, and quality reproductive health care in Minnesota for 80 years. Planned Parenthood has no intention of letting anyone try to close their doors or cave to intimidation and NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota and our volunteers will be there to help support them.If you would like to show your support for Planned Parenthood and their patients, please take this opportunity to sign up today.
What: Planned Parenthood Solidarity Event
When: Good Friday, April 2nd from 8-10:00, 10-12:00, 12-2:00 and 2-4:00.
Where: Planned Parenthood 1965 Ford Pkwy Saint Paul
Who: You the Pro-Choice supporter!
Why: To support Choice and the women who will be making personal decisions on April 2nd!
How: Simple, just e-mail volunteer@prochoiceminnesota.org and sign up for the shift of your choice.
At 10am, a multi-faith, pro-choice prayer service will be open to all of pro-choice supporters. This service will last approximately 20 minutes and will include a variety of faiths. Additionally, Planned Parenthood will be collecting food items for local food shelves; please bring a non-perishable food item to donate and Planned Parenthood will collect and deliver them.This opportunity to peacefully exhibit your support comes along once a year, so mark your calendar and we’ll see you at the solidarity event!

National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers

2010-03-10T07:28:00.000-08:00

Today is National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers. Please take this opprotunity to think of the brave Doctors, Nurses, and support staff that provide this service for women who continue their work despite harassment meant to drive them away.

These brave women and men deserve a huge thank you for all their hard work. Take a minute and do just that on a postcard or letter and send it their way. I little thank you goes a long way in a world where these brave people get huge and very public messages of hate.

Here's a great blog from RH Reality Check on National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers.

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2010/03/10/recognizing-abortion-providers-folks-trust-women

The Choicest of Pro-Choice News!

2010-03-10T07:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a copy of the latest Choice Lobby Networkks CLN. If you would like the luxury of having these sent right to your e-mail account just send a note to Amanda at choicelobby@prochoiceminnesota.org

Greetings, Choice Lobbyists!

———————
Feature: Outing Abortion, From Town Halls to Twitter
One of the fights of the pro-choice movement is to eliminate the shame and secrecy that surrounds abortion. In 2005, the movie “Speak Out: I Had an Abortion” was made, Feministing has hosted a community blogging page dedicated to women sharing their stories, and now a Florida woman is using twitter to take the shame out of having an abortion.

———————
Honoring International Women’s Day
Yesterday was International Women’s Day, celebrated in many ways including a speech by the Michelle Obama at the International Women’s Day Reception in D.C. Planned Parenthood put together this short video with the message of “Trust women for a healthier world”. Combining these two efforts and many others, legislators in Congress introduced a resolution honoring the achievements of women around the world.

In honor of this annual event, here are two international choice news snip-its:
Kenyans have been working for years to rewrite their constitution and are coming close to completion. Sadly, among many other human rights protections for women, the current version prohibits abortion.
In Spain, under the strict prior legislation, abortion was legal up until 22 weeks if the woman's life was in danger, and in the first trimester in case of rape. Now, the procedure is completely legal until the 14th week, and until the 22nd week if the mother's health is in danger or the fetus is malformed.
———————
Healthcare. (Need I say more?)
President Obama held his Health Care Summit to encourage Congress to pass this massive reform. Guess what? Stupak is still making noise and using abortion funding as his bargaining chip. Stupak and 11 other anti-choice democrats are holding their vote’s hostage, demanding strict anti-choice language. The bill currently upholds the Hyde Amendment, which already prohibits federal funding of abortions. To appease Stupak, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) is discussing the possibility of a separate abortion bill to be voted on in addition to the entire health care bill.

———————
Minnesota Choice News
An abortion provider from Minnesota helps provide abortion services to the women of South Dakota.
Senator Al Franken has been making a name for himself in Congress by supporting women’s rights day in and day out.
———————
Choice News Around the Nation
The Arizona Senate passed bills that would ban the use of taxpayer money for abortion insurance, require the disclosure of the health risks associated with donating a human egg, and penalize the destruction of human embryos in non-therapeutic research.
In Idaho, new legislation seeks to extend “freedom of conscience” to pharmacists and other health care workers.
A Nebraska bill seeks to ban most late-term abortions based on the argument that fetuses feel pain.

Good Friday Solidarity Event

2010-03-09T09:58:00.000-08:00

Each year on Good Friday over 1,000 anti-choice protesters descend upon Planned Parenthood’s Highland Park clinic. They carry graphic signs, as well as harass and intimidate their patients.
Planned Parenthood has been providing accessible, affordable, and quality reproductive health care in Minnesota for 80 years. We cannot stand aside as the anti-choice forces try to close their doors through intimidation and harassment.
Like last year, there will be holding a multi-faith prayer service as well as collecting food for local food shelves. The multi-faith, pro-choice prayer service begin at 10am and will be open to all of pro-choice supporters. The service will last approximately 20 minutes and will include a variety of faiths. For the food drive; please bring a non-perishable food item to donate and Planned Parenthood will collect and deliver them.

If you would like to show your support for Planned Parenthood and their patients, please join us for a peaceful visibility event on Good Friday, April 2nd.This opportunity to peacefully exhibit your support comes along once a year, so mark your calendar and sign-up today!

Pro-Choice Lobby Day 2010!

2010-03-08T10:25:00.000-08:00

For those of you who were unable to attend Pro-Choice Lobby Day this year we are proud to present a little video of the day:

Thank you to Bill Sorem for putting this together.

Proposed legislation could have extremely negative effects in Utah

2010-03-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

A Utah anti-abortion bill, which would have made a life sentence available for women who suffered a miscarriage by intention or reckless behavior, was withdrawn March 4 to be revised. Governor Gary R. Herbert, a Republican, has neither vetoed nor signed the bill.

The language of the original bill would have effectively made any woman who suffered a miscarriage a potential suspect. Reproductive rights groups are urging the Governor to veto the bill, saying that it could lead to a ‘witch hunt’ where every miscarriage could lead to police questioning.

The bill was a response to a case of a 17-year-old who sought a miscarriage, and paid a man to beat her. Though she was arrested, she was released when a judge said that seeking an abortion was not a crime.

Legal abortions would not be affected by the bill in either its former or future state, but Utah has laws to discourage abortions, including a parental consent requirement for minors.

How a bill like this could be called into existence is beyond belief. It directly puts the women of Utah into the political arena at a time in their lives when they would value privacy the most. It’s legislature like this that shows how little the privacy of an individual woman matters when political parties are butting heads over moral beliefs, and how hard we have to fight to keep the women of this country safe.

Harmful state legislation to keep an eye on

2010-03-07T17:29:00.000-08:00

Several states have passed or have proposed legislation which severely affects the rights of its women to make personal reproductive choices. Here's some legislation to look out for:

Utah: The miscarriage ban, which could lead to a lifetime sentence for a woman who had suffered a miscarriage.

Florida: proposed a bill that would outlaw all abortions except when a mother’s life is in danger.

Oklahoma: An ultrasound bill, which will force pregnant women to view an ultrasound before deciding on an abortion, and a data-reporting bill, which will require doctors to report detailed information about abortions to the Health Department, including age, marital status, and education level of patients.

Arizona: passed three bills, one of which bans taxpayer abortions, one which regulates the use of embryos and calls them “human beings, not tissues”, and one regarding the health risks from donating eggs.

Catholics for Choice on Healthcare Reform

2010-03-05T12:23:00.000-08:00

For Immediate Release 5 March 2010Media
Contact:David J. Nolan202 986 6093
American Catholics Want Bishops Out of Healthcare Reform

"Interference by the US Catholic bishops in healthcare reform does not help women," said Jon O'Brien, president of Catholics for Choice. "The bishops claim that this is an issue of 'conscience.' However, in seeking to impose their views, the bishops show no regard for the consciences of millions of women in the United States who want the ability to prevent unintended pregnancies or have an abortion when they need it.
"In November, the bishops' last-minute backroom power play with Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) derailed meaningful healthcare reform. The Democrats said from the outset that those who were happy with their coverage would be able to keep it. The bishops should not be allowed to use healthcare reform to restrict women's access to safe and legal reproductive healthcare services. Congress has listened to the bishops, now it is time for Congress to listen to American Catholics who want comprehensive healthcare reform."
American Catholic voters don't want the bishops' help in healthcare reform. Local and national polls have found that i) Catholics want healthcare reform to provide coverage for abortion and ii) that the bishops should not involve themselves in this battle. The American electorate wants its representatives to listen to the voters, not to the Catholic bishops.
Majorities in three of four Congressional districts recently polled: Maine (61%), Pennsylvania (55%) and Ohio (54%), oppose the Catholic bishop in their area having much of an influence on how their member of Congress votes on healthcare reform. In all four districts, the survey findings suggest that a member of Congress who takes the side of the Catholic bishops on abortion in healthcare reform could pay a price at the ballot box. Voters in Texas are much more likely to view their member of Congress less favorably (41%) than more favorably (23%) if that Congressperson votes for a healthcare reform bill that "makes it more difficult for women to get health insurance that covers abortion."
Read an Executive Summary containing the results of all four polls. Individual District results: Maine's 2nd, Ohio's 9th, Pennsylvania's 14th and Texas' 16th.
Nationally, 68 percent of Catholic voters disapprove of Catholic bishops saying that Catholics should oppose the entire healthcare reform plan if it includes coverage for abortion. Fifty-six percent think the bishops should not take a position on healthcare reform at all. In fact, only a small minority of Catholics, fewer than 15 percent, are in line with the bishops in believing that all abortion should be banned. The rest can see circumstances in which legal abortion is an acceptable, even essential, aspect of healthcare. In addition, large majorities of Catholic voters support health insurance coverage for abortions in any private or public option.
The full results of this poll are available here.
O'Brien continued, "Many assume that the bishops speak on behalf of the 65 million Catholics in the US. This just isn't true. In fact, during the healthcare debate, the bishops have consistently misrepresented the views of American Catholics. Religious and ethical concerns can legitimately inform public policy, but the bishops have overstepped the mark. Lawmakers would do well to listen to the views of those who elect them and reject attempts by the bishops to influence the outcome of this vital debate."
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Catholics for Choice shapes and advances sexual and reproductive ethics that are based on justice, reflect a commitment to women's well-being and respect and affirm the capacity of women and men to make moral decisions about their lives.

Show your support for responsible sex ed this Wednesday!

2010-03-02T10:16:00.001-08:00

Correction - An earlier message included an incorrect time for the Senate Hearing on Wednesday, March 3rd. The Senate Health Housing and Family Security Committee will meet at 12:30pm in room 15 of the State Capitol.

HF2986 - the 2010 Responsible Sex Ed bill - will be heard by the House K-12 Education Policy and Oversight Committee on Wednesday, March 3rd at 8:30am, in the basement hearing room of the State Office Building. Later that day, Senate Health Housing and Family Security will hear SF2645 at 12:30pm in room 15 of the State Capitol. We know that sex ed programs provide information that Minnesota youth need to be safe and healthy. Attend the hearing and demontrate to legislators the broad public support for sex ed! For up to date hearing information, check the Education Committee's schedule and the Health Committee's schedule for any last minute changes. For additional information and directions to the Capitol visit www.leg.state.mn.
For more information on what's happening at the Capitol, contact lorie@moappp.org or amy.brugh@mnaidsproject.org
Sincerely,
The Coalition for Responsible Sex Ed

Pro-Choice Lobby Day is just about here!

2010-03-01T09:30:00.000-08:00

Pro-Choice Lobby Day is only four days away! With last week’s fierce debate on the Responsible Family Life and Sexuality Programs Bill (HF2986/SF2645), we can see that getting this bill passed is not going to be easy. We’ll need the full support of every pro-choice, pro-sex education person out there.
Simply put, we need you at the Capitol on Thursday, March 4. We need you to stand with us, in person, and tell your legislator to stand up for Minnesota’s youth! With a 13 percent increase in HIV infections, a rise in teen pregnancies, and the highest levels of reported STIs ever, we cannot wait for a new governor or a better time.
Minnesota’s youth need us now!
Join us at Pro-Choice Lobby Day on the 4th and raise your voice for Minnesota’s youth!

Courts see reason in Oklahoma

2010-02-24T10:06:00.000-08:00

The Oklahoma County District Court called a 2009 law passed by legislature, in which a woman who received an abortion would have been required to write personal details about her choice to have an abortion, her relationships, and her financial situation on a public website, unconstitutional.

However, it was not because it was an invasion of privacy. Instead, the bill simply addressed too many topics, violating Oklahoma’s “single-subject” rule.

The Center for Reproductive Rights, the organization that challenged the law, filed the charge in September, and received this decision February 19.

One of the co-plaintiffs described the law as “like undressing women in public, exposing their most personal issues on the Internet.”

The law, besides creating the new Web site for abortion-related issues, redefined abortion terms, banned sex-selective abortion, and created new abortion reporting requirements. Doctors would have had to file information on a woman’s age, marital status, education level, number of previous pregnancies, type of abortion, and the mother’s relationship to the father. Doctors who did not obey risked loss of their medical licenses or criminal charges.

The law went into effect in November 2009, and the Web site would have launched in March.

Other statistics:

Only 3 doctors in the state of Oklahoma know how to perform abortions

The Web site in question would have cost taxpayers over $250,000 each year

Oklahoma has the sixth highest teen pregnancy rate in the U.S. (I wonder why…)

Laws like the this one from Oklahoma, which deliberately attack a woman’s right to privacy when making reproductive choices, are not just unconstitutional, they’re an outrage.

Please help us make sure we never have to fight for our rights in Minnesota! Join us on Pro-choice Rally day, March 4^th at the Capitol!

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) delivered the keynote address at the NARAL Pro-Choice America Anniversary Luncheon.

2010-02-24T09:37:00.001-08:00

Sen. Franken’s remarks as prepared for delivery:
Shortly after I (finally) became a Senator, I was appointed to the Judiciary Committee.
At first I thought: Well, this is weird. I'm not a lawyer. How am I going to ask the right questions?
But I did some research and discovered most Americans aren't lawyers. It's true.
And so to me, the right questions aren’t the ones a lawyer would necessarily ask. They’re questions the American people would ask.
And that’s what I did in my first hearing. It just happened that my first hearing was a high profile one: the Judiciary Committee was considering the nomination for Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.
I got an early lesson on my unique challenges as a Senator, because a lot of attention was paid to a colloquy I had with now Justice, then Judge Sotomayor. Sotomayor had told my colleague Amy Klobuchar that she had become a prosecutor because of The Perry Mason Show. So when it was my turn, I told her that it intrigued me that she had been inspired to become a prosecutor by a show in which the prosecutor lost every case. And she said very pointedly, “Except one.”
I said, jokingly, “We’ll get to that later” with absolutely no intention of doing that. But toward the end of my 30 minutes, I had a little less than two minutes left and not enough time to develop my last line of questioning. So, I said, “OK. What was the case that Perry Mason lost?”
And Judge Sotomayor said, “I don’t know.”
And I said, “Didn’t the White House prepare you?
And that got a big laugh and a lot of attention. “Al Franken’s long-awaited first joke.”
Unfortunately, that exchange overshadowed a far more important exchange we had had moments earlier.
Let me set it up a bit. The day before, one of my Republican colleagues had been - I guess the right word is “hectoring” - Judge Sotomayor, repeatedly asking her whether the word “abortion” appeared anywhere in the Constitution.
Of course, it doesn’t. But whether it does or not is beside the point. So she answered by speaking to the question behind the question. But finally after being asked for the third time, Judge Sotomayor replied, “No. The word ‘abortion’ is not in the Constitution.”
Which my colleague treated as an “Aha!” moment.
So the next day, I felt compelled to follow up.
I brought up her exchange with my colleague from the previous day, and then asked, “Do the words ‘birth control’ appear anywhere in the Constitution?”
“No, they don’t,” Judge Sotomayor replied quite correctly.
“How about the word ‘privacy?’ Does that appear anywhere in the Constitution?”
She said. “No, the word ‘privacy’ isn’t in the Constitution either.”
I think you can see where I was going. And so could everyone in the hearing room.
You know, there are a lot of words that express bedrock constitutional principles – words like federalism, checks and balances, and separation of powers – that never appear in the Constitution. That doesn’t mean that the Constitution didn’t set up a federalist system, enumerating certain express powers to the federal government and reserving certain powers for the states. And it doesn’t mean that the Constitution didn’t set up a system of “checks and balances” by creating the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, granting each certain powers, creating what is well known as a “separation of powers.”
And even though the word "privacy" does not appear in the Constitution, the Court has long recognized a protection for privacy.
And that is why I followed my questions about the words “birth control” and “privacy” to ask whether Judge Sotomayor agreed that the Court had held that the Constitution created not just a right to privacy, but that it was also established precedent that women had a right to choose to have an abortion.
She said, yes, that was established precedent. That it was settled law. And she agreed that the job of a Supreme Court justice was not to make new law from the bench.
You know, it’s funny. Whenever a Republican runs for the Senate or for president and is asked, “What do you look for in a prospective Justice for the Supreme Court?” Republicans always answer, “I want a judge that doesn’t make law from the bench.”
And then they’re asked, “Can you name a Justice on the Supreme Court that bests reflects your philosophy?” And then they answer Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas. Clarence Thomas, who has voted to overturn more federal laws than any Justice on the Court. And now they might answer “John Roberts.”
John Roberts, who during his own confirmation hearings promised the Senate that he “had no agenda” and that he would follow the precedents of the court.
Let me quote John Roberts from his confirmation hearing: “I do think that it is a jolt to the legal system when you overrule a precedent. ... It is not enough that you may think the prior decision was wrongly decided.” And then, “The role of the judge is limited; the judge is to decide the cases before them; they’re not to legislate; they’re not to execute the laws.
This is the same Roberts who, just last month, decided that he was neither guided nor bound by precedent. It was Roberts and his court who overturned a century’s worth of established precedent, and gave corporations even more power to drown out the voices of average Americans in our electoral system.
It was Roberts who made the term “settled law” an oxymoron. (I’ll take a break for a moment while you think about that.)
I think Norm Ornstein put it best: “Chief Justice Roberts broke every vow he made in his confirmation hearings… It is sad – made sadder by knowing that for perhaps decades to come, the United States will have a chief justice who would, and did, say anything to burnish his reputation and avoid a rocky confirmation hearing, and showed that his words mean nothing.”
For anyone who took comfort in claims made by conservative justices that they would respect the precedents of Roe, the Citizens United case should be the wake-up call of the century.
And that is why…
Even though we have elected a pro-choice president to the White House.
Even though we have confirmed Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.
Even though we have expanded the pro-choice majorities in the House and Senate.
Even though we ended the international gag rule.
Even though we saw the abortion funding ban lifted in the District of Columbia.
… we cannot get complacent.
In the last year alone….
We saw Representative Bart Stupak use the health care bill as a bludgeon, restricting women’s health choices in a bill that was meant to expand them.
We watched with frustration as the Supreme Court overturned a century’s worth of precedents to further their conservative activist agenda.
We are watching as the Senate continues to block Dawn Johnsen’s confirmation to a critical role at the Department of Justice because of her pro-choice views.
And we saw Dr. Tiller murdered at church… AT HIS CHURCH…. murdered for the choice he provided for women.
I want to thank Dr. Sella for being here today, and I want to join you in honoring his memory.
And that’s why the work you do at NARAL is indispensible. Because the forces on the other side are persistent, single-minded, and even violent
A woman’s right to choose is never fully won. It must be won anew every day, every year, every Congress, and every generation.
Even though most Americans support abortion rights, even though most Americans understand that no woman ever plans an unwanted pregnancy, that no woman ever thinks she’ll have to make such a painful and personal choice, those who would deny that choice press on, undeterred.
In a lot of ways that fight is going to be incremental. In 2007 – after Justice O’Connor’s departure, we saw the Roberts Court reject the longstanding precedent that an exception for a woman’s health must be a component of any law that restricts abortion rights.
Even when the woman’s health includes her reproductive health. That’s what Dr. Tiller did so often in his work. Perform abortions on fetuses that would not be viable outside the womb in order to protect a woman’s ability to bear children in the future. Ironically, what could be more pro-life?
I fear this Court – and anti-choice advocates – are happy to adopt an incremental strategy that makes it harder for you to marshal your forces. They’re happy to keep chipping away, again and again, at abortion rights in a way that the American people might not even notice.
If we’re waiting for that one big galvanizing event, that one event that will mobilize progressives to action, I think we have to recognize that that day may never come.
Not until the force of Roe has already been degraded beyond recognition.
So what do we know?
We know that having pro-choice majorities in Congress isn’t enough.
That anti-choice legislators – on both sides of the aisle – can and will do whatever they can to force those of us who believe unconditionally in a woman’s reproductive rights to choose between two bad outcomes:
Look at what they did, pitting abortion issues against health care expansion – pitting the president’s signature legislative goal against a position that he, and we, abhor.
We learned that in the House, a group of anti-choice Democrats wield incredible power. And that in the Senate, a filibuster could only be overcome when anti-choice Democrats imposed humiliating conditions on women who simply want to pay extra for health insurance that covers abortion.
After a year of watching the health care debate unfold, it’s clear that the voices of the pro-choice movement are muted in our halls of Congress, to the extent that several Democrats who had previously had 100% ratings with this very organization felt safe in voting for the Stupak amendment.
Now, let me say that there are millions of people in this country who have a sincere objection to abortion, and much of that is based on strongly held religious conviction. And I respect that. In America, we respect each other’s religious beliefs. But we are not governed by them.
It’s called the “separation of church and state,” a phrase which, like “separation of powers,” does not appear in the Constitution, but which is created just as clearly in the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
So to those people whose religious conviction leads them to a moral opposition to abortion, I say that’s your right, that’s your choice. Don’t have an abortion. But also, do everything you can to work together with us to diminish the reasons we have abortions
Support comprehensive sex education and access to affordable family planning services. Support funding for maternal child health programs, WIC, and affordable child care so new mothers have security and the resources they need to raise a healthy child.
Oh yeah, and support comprehensive affordable health care for all.
So this is my pledge to you: I will be unwavering in my support for women’s choice and women’s rights:
Last year I introduced the “Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault Act” to address the backlog of rape kits. It guarantees that survivors of sexual assaults never have to pay for their own rape kit analysis. It requires more health professionals get trained to administer rape kit exams. And most importantly, it requires that local law enforcement address their backlogs of unexamined rape kits. Too many rape kits are taken, and then left to collect dust on the shelf.
In the interest of justice, we have to do better than that.
This is a fight we must wage.
In December, I introduced a bill that would guarantee that 350,000 women serving in the military all have the same access to emergency contraception as civilian women living here at home.
It’s unfathomable to me that people who are anti-choice would oppose the ability of women to have emergency contraception. Especially women in uniform who are putting themselves in harm’s way in Iraq and Afghanistan. Women who we know are victims of a high rate of sexual assault.
The ironic fact is that Plan B is available on many bases here in the U.S. and at some bases overseas. My bill, for which Olympia Snowe is the lead co-sponsor, would simply require that it is available at every base. If this one doesn’t fall in the “no-brainer” category, I don’t know what does.
It’s one thing to be against women having emergency contraception. It’s quite another to be for them randomly not having it.
And where they don’t have it is Baghdad and Kabul, where they can’t just walk to a pharmacy.
Women are outnumbered in the military. They are outnumbered in the Senate. They are outnumbered in the House, and outnumbered in the courts. Everywhere women are outnumbered, there’s an unfortunate tendency for their rights to be marginalized.
This isn’t a fight about a single choice. It’s a fight about choices. It’s a fight about rights. And it’s a fight we must continually wage.
I want to leave you today with a story. It’s one that should sound familiar to the millions of women across this country who understand in a very personal way the importance of protecting women’s reproductive rights.
The story is about a Minnesotan named Kim. Kim was a 19-year-old single mother. She was struggling to make ends meet, working full time as a receptionist. Her daughter had health insurance through the state, but she did not. Her boyfriend, her daughter’s father, was extremely abusive.
She was getting the pill through Planned Parenthood at a reduced rate, but after her car broke down, she couldn’t afford that either.
One day her boyfriend demanded that they have sex, but refused to use a condom. He threatened her. She was too afraid to say no. And she ended up pregnant.
She said, “Abortion was absolutely the right choice for me at that time… Had I stayed in that relationship and brought another child into the mix, I would have continued the cycle of abuse and poverty.”
“Making the decision to stop the cycle [allowed me] to concentrate on my daughter and ensure that she will have the financial and emotional stability to go to college and live a successful, happy life. Women need options, women need choices.”
I am here to ask you to keep up the fight, for Kim, and for every woman who has learned – and will learn – that women need options and choices.
Thank you for the work you’ve done – and are continuing to do -- to stand up for women’s rights.
I’m proud to stand with you.

Show your support for responsible sex ed on Thursday!

2010-02-23T11:52:00.000-08:00

HF2986 - the 2010 Responsible Sex Ed bill - will be heard by the House Health Care and Human Services Policy and Oversight Committee on Thursday, February 25th at 2:45pm, in room 200 of the State Office Building. We know that sex ed programs provide information that Minnesota youth need to be safe and healthy. Attend the hearing and demontrate to legislators the broad public support for sex ed! For up to date hearing information, check the Committee's schedule for any last minute changes. For additional information and directions to the Capitol visit www.leg.state.mn.

Choice News Snip-its

2010-02-22T08:19:00.001-08:00

· Personhood Colorado claims to have gathered 80,000 signatures in support of legislation that would add fertilized embryos to the definition of humans in the state Constitution.
· In Missouri, a bill was introduced in the Senate that would require women seeking abortions to receive information about the fetus and wait 24 hours for the procedure.
· RH Reality Check puts the anti-choice group, Human Life Alliance, in their place by highlighting myths in their advertisements.
· The debate over making the HPV vaccine available to young women gets realistic as the New York State Legislature hears a bill that would let health care professionals give the vaccine to women younger than 18 without parental consent.

Insurance Coverage for Abortions

2010-02-22T08:09:00.000-08:00

In a recent RH Reality Check article, author Robin Marty discusses the newly common trend of attempting to remove abortion coverage from numerous states’ health care plans. The favorite “abortion rider” has been discussed in full force within legislatures across the nation including North Carolina and Kansas. In North Carolina, the Wake County Board of Commissioners is considering eliminating coverage of elective abortions from the health plan for county employees. In Kansas, the House debated on a law that would prohibit insurance providers from covering most elective abortions under basic Kansas health care policies.

Partner Violence and Unintended Pregnancy: Time to Make the Connections

2010-02-22T08:05:00.000-08:00

A recent study published in the international journal, “Contraception” shows the horrifying reality of women who have been forced into pregnancy by their partners. The article also claims that a huge majority of unintended pregnancies occur because of this. RH Reality check points out that reproductive coercion takes on many forms. Within the study, 19% of participants reported pregnancy coercion, and 15% experienced birth control sabotage.

Sex Education Bills introduced in MN!

2010-02-22T08:02:00.000-08:00

This year Minnesota has seen increases in HIV and STI rates following two years of increasing adolescent pregnancy rates. Young people need access to developmentally appropriate, medically accurate information now. Responsible sex ed bills were introduced (HF2986/SF2645) this week! Stay tuned for more details as the session progresses.

SO how can you help us keep the momentum going? Simple, by attending Pro-Choice Lobby Day! Raise your voice for choice at the Capitol on March 4th. Click here to register!

Attempted Stupak here in Minnesota!

2010-02-19T19:41:00.000-08:00

On Thursday the anti-choice forces introduced an egregious anti-choice amendment to the bill that funds our state’s health program for low-income people.

That’s right; it was a Stupak/Pitts-type amendment to a program that doesn’t even cover abortion. Fortunately, the amendment was defeated by a tied vote and the bill went on to approval 125 to 9.

This type of amendment is why we need so many pro-choice legislators at the Capitol, and why your elected representatives need to know where you stand on the right to choose.

We have the perfect opportunity for you to then thank your representative or voice your outrage!

Join us on March 4 for our Pro-Choice Lobby Day! Spend the morning with us, and you can personally thank the representatives who stood strong against this type of political nonsense or let those who voted the wrong way know how disappointed you are.

Visit ProChoiceLobbyDay.org to learn more and RSVP!

Sex Ed Bills Introduced!

2010-02-18T15:00:00.000-08:00

The 2010 legislative session is underway and sex ed is in the mix! Our 2010 strategy is to expand the audience of legislators in the know about sex ed - and who better to hear about the positive impacts of responsible sex ed than the Health and Human Service Policy committees. This year Minnesota has seen serious increases in HIV and STI rates - following two years of increasing adolescent pregnancy rates. Young people need access to developmentally appropriate, medically accurate information now.
Responsible sex ed bills were introduced (HF2986/SF2645) earlier this week and referred to health policy committee! The best way for you to support these bills is to attend Pro-Choice Lobby Day on March 4th and tell your Legislators to stand up for Minnesota's kids. Simply go to www.prochoicelobbyday.org and sign up today!

The reality of 'reproductive coercion'

2010-02-16T19:45:00.000-08:00

A recent study has been published that shows the horrifying reality of women who have been forced into pregnancy by their partners. The article also claims that a huge majority of unintended pregnancies are due to this phenomenon.

Elizabeth Miller MD PhD and Jay Silverman PhD recently released a study highlighting what they call “reproductive coercion”, which includes forced sex, fear of violence if a woman refuses sex, or inability to negotiate condom or contraceptive use while in an abusive relationship. The actions of these abusive partners include taking off or intentionally breaking condoms, interfering with the woman’s birth control schedule, or threatening the woman into sex by saying they may beat the woman or leave her if she didn’t get pregnant.

The researchers talked to many women in five reproductive health care clinics in California seeking some form of treatment, and had them fill out an anonymous electronic questionnaire.

Shockingly, 53% of the participants reported that they had experienced physical or sexual violence at some time in their lives, and 25% had experienced ‘reproductive coercion.”

19% reported pregnancy coercion, and 15% experienced birth control sabotage.

The study mentions several applications of the study’s findings, such as the need to educate women who may consider physical violence and reproductive coercion as separate experiences, when instead they should be considered one in the same. It could also improve family planning services and counselors, which could point women toward contraception that would be harder for a woman’s partner to detect.

The fact that so many women are affected by this abusive behavior is severely disheartening, and points out the need to educate young girls in how to avoid getting into this kind of situation both in Minnesota and nationwide.

Help NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota lobby for change in reproductive education March 4th at the Capitol!

Possible pro-choice license plate for Virginia

2010-02-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

The Washington Post pointed out just one instance of pro-life supporters getting unfair representation last week.

Reproductive-rights advocates in Richmond, VA are pushing a license plate that says “Trust Women, Respect Choice” to balance out the “Choose Life” license plates already in the area.

This would make Virginia the fourth state in the U.S. to offer drivers the option. It’s also the only state that would require legislative approval for it. There are already 23 states that have approved the “choose life” plate, and the 520,000 that have been sold will be on roads in March.

Opponents of the licenses include the state’s attorney and the governor, who claim they have no problem with the plates, but instead that Planned Parenthood offices may make a profit. To provide the plates to drivers, the full legislature’s approval would be needed, along with the governor’s signature.

Supporters are threatening to sue if drivers aren’t given the option of the Pro-Choice plates, claiming it’s unconstitutional not to offer both options to drivers.

In Memory of Dr. Tiller

2010-02-04T09:52:00.000-08:00

Focus On... Something Else

2010-02-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

CBS will air Focus on the Family's new anti-choice ad during the Super Bowl - subjecting nearly 100 million people to an ad that doesn't tell the true story of Focus on the Family's extreme agenda.
The ad will tell the story of Tim Tebow's mother, who in 1987 decided to continue a pregnancy which her doctors warned her could threaten her life. Does NARAL Pro-Choice America disagree with her decision?
No, we're not criticizing her decision. In fact, Tim Tebow's mother made the choice that was best for her and her family... and that's exactly what it means to be pro-choice. Unfortunately, Focus on the Family wants to take that choice away from other women.
Tell me more about Focus on the Family.
Focus on the Family has an unmistakable anti-choice, anti-birth-control, anti-sex-education, and anti-gay agenda. Its views on women are insulting and dangerous. Here are just a few of the outrageous claims the group has made:
Its web site urges women facing unintended pregnancy to seek "wise advice" because "the hormones and extreme emotions of pregnancy make reasonable decisions more difficult."
Its web site calls sex outside of marriage "destructive."
In 2008, Focus on the Family endorsed a divisive anti-choice "personhood" ballot measure in Colorado that would have banned abortion and threatened birth control. Fortunately, pro-choice Coloradoans, led by NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, resoundingly rejected this measure.
Focus on the Family spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to support California's discriminatory Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state. The organization's founder, James Dobson, claimed that gay marriage will "destroy the Earth."
What you can do to show you're against this ad:
Instead of watching Focus on the Family's ad, for 30 seconds, just focus on… something else. Use Facebook and Twitter to tell everyone why you object to the ad and tell them what you'll focus on instead of watching it.
On Facebook, use this as your status update, and just add your answer in place of [YOUR ANSWER HERE]. Make sure to link to this page to help educate your friends.
Focus On The Family is anti-choice, anti-birth-control, & anti-gay. When its Super Bowl ad runs, I'll join @NARAL Pro-Choice America and #FocusOn [YOUR ANSWER HERE] http://bit.ly/b9RoSE. If you agree, post what you'll #FocusOn as your status.
Here's what to post on Twitter:
FocusOnTheFamily is anti-choice & anti-gay. When its SuperBowl ad runs, I'll join @naral & #FocusOn [YOUR ANSWER HERE] http://bit.ly/b9RoSE Pls RT
Here are some ideas for what to write:
I'll focus on catching up with my friends.
I'll focus on my family.
I'll focus on letting the dog out.
I'll focus on getting another beer.
I'll focus on refilling the salsa bowl.
I'll focus on watching the Puppy Bowl.
We're sure you can come up with other great ideas.
About NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America fights to guarantee every woman the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion.

Wisconsin passing legislation for contraceptive education in schools

2010-02-03T23:23:00.000-08:00

Wisconsin passed legislation Thursday, Jan 28th that will require all sex education classes to include instruction on contraceptives in an effort to reduce teen pregnancies. Information taught in classes would include health benefits, side effects, proper use, and other methods to prevent pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. The measure was widely supported by nurses and health departments, the WI teacher's union, and the WI branch of Planned Parenthood. It passed in the Senate 18-15, with all Democrats backing the bill and all Republicans against it. Gov. Jim Doyle said he supported the bill as well. The measure would take effect in the 2010 school year.

Opponents of the bill said that it sent a pro-premarital sex message, and that schools should instead focus on teaching abstinence as a way to prevent pregnancies or STIs.

Sadly, this would make WI only one of 16 states required to include contraceptive education in their sex education classes. Also, WI is one of 22 remaining states that require abstinence and celibacy to be stressed as the best choice for protection against pregnancy.

It is tremendously important that Minnesota follow in Wisconsin's footsteps and add contraceptive education into all sex education class agendas. MN teens are faced with horrifying statistics, like the fact that 1 in 4 MN teens contract an STI by the time they reach 24,rates of HIV infections were up by 13 percent in 2009, and 1 in 3 women will become pregnant by the age of 21. A vast majority of this can be avoided with comprehensive sex education.

Help us to shed light on the necessity of sex education at Pro-choice Lobby Day on March 4th at the Capitol!

ROEDER CONVICTED!

2010-01-29T10:21:00.000-08:00

Dr. Tiller's killer was convicted of first degree murder today after less than 40 minutes of deliberation. For more details on the verdict click here and for NARAL Pro-Choice America’s statement click here.

While we applaud this decision we cannot forget what women's reproductive health lost on May 30th 2009, a kind, caring advocate who continued his work under the threat of death, a compassionate person who trusted women.

Call on CBS to Drop Focus on the Family Super Bowl Ad

2010-01-27T08:31:00.000-08:00

Call on CBS to Drop Focus on the Family Super Bowl Ad
CBS cleared the way to subject nearly 100 million people to Focus on the Family’s extreme agenda by agreeing to air its new pro-life ad during the Super Bowl.
Focus on the Family has an unmistakable anti-choice, anti-birth-control, anti-sex-education, anti-gay agenda. If that wasn’t bad enough, its views on women are just plain insulting and dangerous. For example, its web site urges women facing an unintended pregnancy to seek “wise advice” because “the hormones and extreme emotions of pregnancy make reasonable decisions more difficult.”
We can’t just sit by while CBS lets Focus on the Family place a political ad during the Super Bowl, when millions of people are watching ads.
CBS still has time to change course if enough of us apply pressure. Urge CBS to drop Focus on the Family’s ad.
Sign the petition here: https://secure.prochoiceamerica.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=4143

I had an abortion.

2010-01-26T07:51:00.000-08:00

Join an Intergenerational discussion Parents, teens, young adults, mentors and friends of First Universalist

Cutting across age, race, class and religion, the film unfolds personal narratives with intimate interviews, archival footage, family photos and home movies.
I Had an Abortion features 10 women — including famed feminist Gloria Steinem — who candidly describe experiences spanning seven decades, from the years before Roe v. Wade to the present day.

Fresh, moving, important…Muriel Rukeyser wrote, ‘If one woman told the truth about her life, the world would split open.’ [This film] gives us 10 truth-telling women, and splits the world open in as many ways.‛ Katha Pollitt, The Nation magazine

Sponsors: RSVP appreciated to: Sara mckru@comcast.net

7:00 pm
Friday
February 19, 2010
Free admission. Food will be served.
First Universalist Church
3400 Dupont Ave S
Minneapolis

Latest from the Choice Lobby Network

2010-01-26T07:50:00.000-08:00

Feature: Happy 37th Anniversary, Roe!

In honor of the 37th anniversary of the passage of Roe v. Wade, RH Reality Check put together a video of pro-choice supporters answering the question, “What does choice mean to you?”

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia Investigates CPCs

In Virginia, not unlike other states, drivers have the option of purchasing “Choose Life” anti –abortion license plates. A portion of the fees go to “Heartbeat International”, a Christian group that distributes money to Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) across the state. Questions were raised about whether or not these clinics were qualified to receive these funds. These questions were raised by NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia volunteers who went undercover and found out some startling facts (read a summary of the report here):

· 38 out of the 52 anti-abortion pregnancy centers in Virginia do not have medically trained or supervised personnel on staff
· Two-thirds of the centers provided "some degree of medically erroneous information."
· Fliers distributed were misleading and outdated
· Other false statements are highlighted by the investigators here.

Sadly, CPC funding is alive and well in Minnesota. In a recent article in the Minnesota Independent, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota, Linnea House, helped explain how your tax dollars are helping to pay for misinformation about reproductive health given by these CPCs. The large anti-choice organization, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, is currently putting its weight behind legislation that would bring anti-choice plates to Minnesota.

Status Check: The Healthcare Debate

We all heard about the unexpected election of Republican Scott Brown to the Massachusetts Senate. Anti-choice leaders are praising this win and everyone is talking about Senator-Elect Brown’s impact on the passage of healthcare reform.

As it stands right now, both bills change the abortion status quo and many legislators are holding their votes hostage, waiting to see what the abortion language looks like in the final version.

Since it’s increasingly difficult to follow the differences between the two versions of the reform legislation, the Associated Press put together an interactive article to help you see how your healthcare would be impacted by each version of the bill. Also, to see how reform will affect women’s health specifically, check out this article.

Wait... WHAT?! Your Jaw Dropping Moment of the Week:

CBS, the network bringing us the SuperBowl this year, has a standard “No Advocacy in Advertising” policy which they are apparently more than willing to bend. During this year’s game, keep your eyes open for an anti-choice ad featuring 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam. RH Reality Check explains that CBS has previously rejected ads by MoveOn.org and NBC has rejected a PSA on marriage equality—apparently anti-choice ads don’t fall under the same “no advocacy” policy.

Video of the Week: Keith Olbermann Explains Implications of Scott Roeder’s Trial

The Wichita, Kansas trial of the man who has admitted he killed abortion doctor George Tiller last May began Friday, and confessed killer Scott Roeder could end up with just four to six years in prison. Southern Poverty Law Centers Mark Potok discusses the ramifications in this Keith Olbermann segment.

What does “Trust Women” Mean To You?

2010-01-22T14:01:00.000-08:00

This is a post from one of our wonderful volunteers and friends:

In Sweet Agony on January 22, 2010 at 6:27 am

Today is NARAL’s Blog for Choice Day, and I will explain what “Trust Women,” the phrase for pro-choicers everywhere, means to me.
Last year, on Saturday mornings as I walked into work, a building which was in between an anti-choice, deceptive “Crisis Pregnancy Center” and a Planned Parenthood, I would witness the crowd of (mostly men) protesters hound the patients as they tried to get into the PP. I saw how the protesters tried to yell loud enough to penetrate the PP escort’s shielding umbrellas. I saw young men walking in circles with their rosaries, trying to make some sort of righteous statement of their all-holy, open showcase of prayer (which, last time I checked, Jesus seriously looked down upon?) See Matthew 6:5-6:
Matthew 6:5-6: “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men….when thou prayest, enter into thy closet and when thou has shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret….”
These people aren’t trying to help. They aren’t doing the will of God, either. They waste their time by yelling swear words, awful derogatory names, flashing their explicit fetus posters, bringing their own children to such a situation, twisting the words of God, when will they learn?
When I picked up my escorting vest, I joined the team of others who really, Trust Women. The fact that such phrase is needed is insane to me- is it suppose to be sarcastic? ‘trust half of the worlds’ population’? Unfortunately, it is not sarcastic. There are people out there who really believe their opinion is the law of the land, the moral standard everyone must follow, the most superior.
Trusting women means that whether one would or wouldn’t undergo this common medical procedure, one believes that there are a million reasons that women do get abortions and one ought not control another’s body as a slave to say what she can or cannot do with it.

Roe Celebration highlights!

2010-01-22T07:21:00.000-08:00

Last night the Minnesota Choice Coalition along with 50 members of the Pro-Choice Community gathered last night to commemorate the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade at Azia Restaurant in Minneapolis. The event provided great opportunity for individuals to connect with other choice supporters in the community and reaffirm their commitment to reproductive justice.

During the event, members of the coalition presented calls to action for the attendees ranging from participating in Choice Lobby at the Capitol to broadcasting pro-choice issues via social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

“These events are great because we are able to gather as a strong collective and after we leave we need to have ways to keep our voices strong and these actions are an excellent way to do that.” said Linnea House, Executive Director of Pro-Choice Minnesota Foundation.

The Minnesota Choice Coalition consists of eight non-profit organizations dedicated to preserving reproductive freedom in Minnesota. While each member organization serves a vital and unique purpose in the pro-choice community, we collaborate to organize rallies, events, and education projects.

Member organizations include: Midwest Health Center for Women, Minnesota National Organization for Women, Minnesota Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota, National Council of Jewish Women, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Pro-Choice Resources.

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia is in todays Washigton Post

2010-01-20T09:18:00.000-08:00

NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia made the front page of the Metro Section in today's Washington Post. The story wouldn't have happened without the affiliate's work exposing how anti-choice crisis pregnancy centers mislead women about their health-care options.
Questions raised about anti-abortion groups getting Va. license plate fee - washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com

Support the Sex Education Resolution for 2010 Caucuses!

2010-01-19T13:33:00.001-08:00

It’s time for the 2010 Precinct Caucuses! Another election cycles is beginning and the caucuses offer us two important opportunities, the first is to start narrowing the field of candidates for office and the second is to offer amendments to Party platforms! Regardless of your party affiliation you have the right to offer up amendments to your party’s platform.
NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota in concert with the Minnesota Choice Coalition has prepared a resolution to support sexuality education programs that include information about abstinence, contraception and disease prevention.
So please remember to attend your precinct caucus on Feb 2nd 2010 and vote for the candidates you feel strongly about and take this opportunity to stand up for Minnesota’s youth and demand your party support age appropriate comprehensive sexuality education!
For a copy of the resolution click here.
Unsure of how a caucus works? Come to a Caucus Training! For a list of trainings click here.
Unsure of your caucus location? Click here.

2009 Highs and Lows for Pro-Choice Americans

2010-01-19T09:39:00.000-08:00

January 19, 2010

As Congress Debates Abortion Coverage in Health-Care Reform,
New Report Shows 2009 a Mix of Highs and Lows for
Pro-Choice Americans in the States

Washington, D.C.—NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation today released the 19th edition of Who Decides? The Status of Women’s Reproductive Rights in the United States, the nation’s most comprehensive report on choice-related legislation and court decisions. This report, which comes as Congress continues to debate abortion coverage in health-care reform, shows a mix of progress and setbacks for choice across the country.

On the federal level, President Obama reversed anti-choice policies enacted by the previous administration and nominated individuals with pro-choice records to key federal positions. NARAL Pro-Choice America also successfully worked with allies in Congress to lift a ban on Washington, D.C.’s ability to use locally raised funds to provide abortion services for low-income women, eliminate two discredited “abstinence-only” programs, and increase funding for domestic and international family-planning programs.

Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, said that House and Senate passage of health-reform bills that include provisions making it more difficult or virtually impossible for women to buy insurance with abortion coverage in the new system overshadowed the progress.

“For pro-choice Americans, 2009 was a roller-coaster ride,” Keenan said. “On one hand, we saw positive changes in policies that will make a difference in the lives of women and their families. On the other hand, anti-choice politicians used health reform to advance destructive and divisive attacks on women’s access to abortion coverage. The challenges we face on health reform are a reminder that, despite our success in changing the choice-related composition of Congress and a pro-choice White House, anti-choice lawmakers still outnumber our pro-choice allies. Every time we take a step forward we will face unrelenting resistance from anti-choice politicians who will sink to new lows to undermine women’s freedom and privacy.”

Keenan said the report outlined a similar combination of progress and setbacks at the state level, including the following highlights: Pro-Choice Progress:
In 2009, 14 states and Washington, D.C. enacted 21 pro-choice measures.
§ Wisconsin enacted a law that requires health-insurance plans that provide prescription-medication benefits to cover contraceptives and required pharmacists to fill valid birth-control prescriptions.
§ Hawaii, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and Washington enacted laws that improve sex education in schools.
§ Utah and D.C. enacted laws to ensure that sexual-assault survivors receive information about and access to emergency contraception in emergency rooms.
Anti-Choice Attacks:
§ In 2009, 14 states enacted 29 anti-choice measures, increasing the number of anti-choice measures enacted in states since 1995 to 610.
§ Virginia enacted a law that establishes “Choose Life” license plates. A portion of the proceeds from these plates funds anti-choice organizations known as “crisis pregnancy centers” that target women considering abortion and often mislead, coerce, and intimidate them.
§ Arizona enacted a far-reaching law that includes a litany of anti-choice provisions that, among other things, subject women to state-mandated lectures and waiting periods that delay access to abortion care. The law also allows certain individuals or entities to refuse to provide abortion services and to refuse to provide or dispense contraceptives.

Keenan cited Arizona as a prime example of how a change in a state’s political landscape can have real consequences for a woman’s right to choose. Even though a court intervened and stopped some of that state’s new anti-choice provisions from taking effect, the 2009 law caused Arizona’s grade on reproductive rights to drop from a B- to a D+.

“The departure of pro-choice champion Janet Napolitano from the governor’s mansion in Arizona illustrates the importance of having elected leaders who stand up for a woman’s right to choose,” Keenan said. “Arizona’s new anti-choice governor is a willing participant in attacks on women’s privacy – a complete reversal of former Gov. Napolitano’s legacy as a defender of pro-choice values. That means women are worse off today in Arizona than they were at this time last year.”

Keenan also said that NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation dedicated this edition of the Who Decides? report to the late Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider who was murdered inside his church in May, and his family, to all abortion-care providers, and to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts.

The report, which includes a summary of federal and state laws as well as a ranking and grades of states, may be found at: http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/whodecides.Contact: Ted Miller, 202-973-3032

State pays for misinformation

2010-01-14T08:57:00.001-08:00

Check out the Minnesota Indepdent's latest article on Minnesota paying for ‘misinformation’ about reproductive health through crisis pregnancy centers. Some of these “taxpayer-funded programs are intentionally misleading women in crisis by providing inaccurate information about reproductive health options” such as abortion and birth control.
To read the entire article, click here.

Happy New Year, Choice Lobbyists!

2010-01-12T10:05:00.000-08:00

This is the latest from NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota's CHoice Lobby Network:

TAKE ACTION NOW!
Ben Nelson’s Stupak-esque amendment was originally tabled by the Senate. However, when Nelson threatened to vote against the healthcare reform bill, his anti-choice amendment was added back into the bill.

In a recent call to action by NARAL Pro-Choice America’s CEO Nancy Keenan, she says, “Right now, both the House and Senate versions of the bill include dangerous and unacceptable restrictions on abortion coverage. If we don't act immediately, women could face significant barriers to accessing abortion care in the new health system.”
Add your name to our national petition to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and President Obama calling on them to fix the bill before bringing it to a final vote.
Video Feature
CNN’s Anderson Cooper takes a trip to a Planned Parenthood clinic in New York City and explores the facts of abortion access and cost (setting aside politics, for a brief moment).

Wait…WHAT?! (your jaw dropping moment of the week)
Across the country volunteers donate their time to ensure the safety of those visiting clinics which provide abortions. These clinic escorts typically wear bright colored vests so patients can easily identify them as allies amongst the protesters. In Louisville, KY, anti-choice protesters have hit a new level of deceit—they are wearing the same kind of vests as the clinic escorts further confusing and harassing patients.

Cultural Variations in the Abortion Debate
In South Korea, under the country’s Mother and Child Health Law, abortions are only permitted “when the mother’s health is in serious danger, or in cases of rape, incest, or severe hereditary disorders.” Abortions after the first 24 weeks of pregnancy aren’t allowed under any circumstances. However, until lately, abortions performed illegally were rarely prosecuted or publically debated because society considers it a private, family issue. This New York Times article examines the reasoning behind the new emerging public debate on abortion.

Top 10 Wins for Women’s Health in 2009
Yes, we’re all extremely concerned with how healthcare reform is going to turn out and what it will mean for women’s reproductive rights and abortion access. Amongst all of the stress of this debate, we should take time to remember the positive, pro-women’s health events of 2009. RH Reality Check helps us do just that.

Upcoming NARAL Events
ü 37th Roe Anniversary Event! Join NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota and the Pro-Choice Coalition from 6-8pm on Thursday, January 21st at Azia Restaurant in Minneapolis (Map). For more information, check out NARAL’s blog here.

ü Save the date! Pro-Choice Lobby Day is March 4th at the Capitol including a rally in the rotunda and meeting your legislators. Put it on your calendars now!

This Is Our Last Chance for Action

2010-01-11T13:57:00.000-08:00

It's time for our leaders in Washington to sit down and work out the details of the final health-care-reform bill.
Both the House and Senate versions of the bill include dangerous and unacceptable restrictions on women's access to abortion coverage.
Sign the petition to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Harry Reid, and President Obama. Tell them to fix the bill before bringing it to a final vote.
Our goal is to collect 30,000 signatures by January 20, 2010 – please add your name today!
https://secure.prochoiceamerica.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=4121

Roe is turning 37! Come and celebrate with us at Azia!

2010-01-05T13:17:00.000-08:00

Please join NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota and the Minnesota Choice Coalition as we gather to celebrate the 37th anniversary of Roe verses Wade. The fight for safe legal abortion lead to the land mark decision on January 22nd 1973 and maintaining that right has been an uphill struggle. From the Hyde Amendment to the Stupak/Pitts Amendment the anti-choice forces have been attempting to restrict a woman’s right to choose. Let’s take this time to celebrate 37 years of a woman’s right to choose and celebrate of victories and strengthen our resolve to stand together against any and all attacks on choice!

Thank you and we hope to see you at Azia!

Date: Thursday, January 21, 2010
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: Azia Restaurant
Street: 2550 Nicollet Ave S
City/Town: Minneapolis, MN
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Start strong in 2010!

2009-12-22T22:28:00.000-08:00

As 2009 comes to a close, we want to extend our warmest thanks to all of our pro-choice supporters!
We started our year commemorating the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, held our largest lobby day ever, and had another successful year of beating back anti-choice attacks at the Capitol.
During our summer outreach, we covered the state from Rochester to Duluth, Moorhead to Pine City. As the health-care debate heated up, we rose up and fought back against the anti-choice Stupak-Pitts amendment and defeated the Nelson-Hatch amendment in the Senate.
And through all of this you all stood with us by coming to the Capitol, visiting our booths at events across the state, and calling and e-mailing your legislators in record numbers!
With the end of 2009 come changes for us here at NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota. The most visible change will be our move from our home of ten years at the Minnesota Women’s Building to a new location that will also house our canvass operations. This will increase our productivity, creativity, and reduce costs and allow us to continue our work here in Minnesota.
Thank you all for your encouragement, the phone calls and e-mails to your elected officials, and your support. NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota is dedicated to continuing the fight for reproductive rights and could not continue this work without your support.
I ask you to consider making a year-end gift TODAY. With your support, we will meet the challenges of 2010 and protect women’s right to choose in Minnesota.
My Best,
Linnea House
Executive Director
NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota

Latest Choice news

2009-12-22T22:27:00.000-08:00

The Senate passed another 60-vote hurdle this morning on health care, voting 60-39 to end debate and move to a vote on a package of changes by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Democrats are now anticipating final passage in the Senate before Christmas.

The New York Times reports that there are many issues for the Democrats to hash out between the different Senate and House health care bills, and that abortion coverage will be among the most difficult to resolve.

Cecile Richards, of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, writes on the Huffington Post that the Nelson compromise trades away millions of women's access to health care for a single vote, and will result in a system that places excessive administrative burdens on health insurance companies that cover abortion care.

George Washington University Professor Sara Rosenbaum analyzes how health care reform legislation may result in health insurance companies no longer covering abortion care.

The New York Times editorial board points out that the Nelson compromise would result in a "deplorable interference by state governments into decisions that should be made by a woman and her doctor." The board, however, supports passage of the Senate health care bill.

Thank you, Franken and Klobuchar.

2009-12-10T12:39:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday, people rallied all over the country in opposition to anti-choice amendments in the proposed healthcare bills. Here in Minnesota, over 75 people stood up at the capitol alongside organizations like NARAL, Minnesota Now, Religious coalition for Reproductive Choice, Pro-Choice Resources, The National Council of Jewish Women, and many more.

Mirroring this outcry, Senator Al Franken spoke out against the Nelson/Hatch amendment on the Senate floor emphasizing, “We are on the verge of passing a historic health reform law that will do more to improve the health of women and families than any legislation in recent history. We will end discrimination based on health history, on gender, or on history of domestic violence. We will provide access to preventive health services so women can get annual exams and mammograms at no cost. And it is our responsibility to guarantee that women are not worse off under the health reform we're going to pass. That they're not worse off than they are today.”

Please contact our Minnesota Senators Franken and Klobuchar to thank them for standing up for women’s rights and to urge them to continue opposing anti-choice attacks within healthcare reform legislation. We had a huge victory this week, but the fight is far from over.

Senate Rejects Divisive Attack on Abortion Rights

2009-12-08T14:59:00.001-08:00

NARAL Pro-Choice America credits activists, mobilization efforts
for defeating abortion-coverage ban in Senate bill

Washington, D.C. – Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, commended the Senate for standing up to anti-choice pressure groups and rejecting an amendment aimed at derailing the health-reform process.

Keenan also called the Senate’s action a victory for pro-choice activists. Hundreds of thousands of Americans flooded Senate offices with calls, email messages, and petition signatures calling on senators to reject efforts to add an amendment similar to the House-passed Stupak-Pitts amendment.

The Senate voted by a 54-45 margin to table the amendment offered by anti-choice Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), essentially defeating the amendment.

“My heartfelt appreciation goes to all the pro-choice Americans who joined us in calling on the Senate to reject anti-choice attacks in health reform,” Keenan said. “We salute our pro-choice allies who worked so hard to stop this attack that could have caused women to lose coverage in the new health-care system. The bill already includes a ban on federal funding for abortion and a requirement that only women’s personal funds may be used for abortion care. That’s deeply disappointing to us, but the Nelson-Hatch proposal, like the Stupak-Pitts amendment in the House, would have gone much further, making it virtually impossible for private insurance plans that participate in the new system to offer abortion coverage to women.

“We had an important win today, but the fight is far from over. We will mobilize our activists and work with our allies in Congress to stop additional attacks in the Senate and work to ensure that the final health bill does not include the dangerous and divisive Stupak-Pitts language that’s currently in the House bill.”

Last week, NARAL Pro-Choice America unveiled a TV ad that’s running in key markets in four states. The ad followed a December 2 event on Capitol Hill where the organization and many of its state affiliates participated in a grassroots lobby day that called on the Senate to say “no” to the Stupak language. Prior to that, on November 23, the organization delivered a petition with 97,128 signatures to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, calling on the Senate to keep the Stupak-Pitts language out of its bill. More than 229,000 NARAL Pro-Choice America and state affiliate activists called, wrote to, and visited their lawmakers during the summer months, and the media have reported on NARAL Pro-Choice America's other mobilization efforts, including automated calls and volunteer-led phone banks in 20 states.

Like the House-passed Stupak-Pitts amendment, the Nelson-Hatch amendment would make it virtually impossible for private insurance companies that participate in the new system to offer abortion coverage. This would have the effect of denying women the right to use their own personal funds to purchase an insurance plan with abortion coverage in the new health system—a radical departure from the status quo. Presently, more than 85 percent of private-insurance plans cover abortion services.

The amendment also includes other egregious provisions that undermine a women’s right to choose:
Like the Stupak-Pitts amendment, the Nelson-Hatch proposal also forbids any plan offering abortion coverage in the new system from accepting even one subsidized customer. Since more than 75 percent of the participants in the exchange will be subsidized, it seems certain that all health plans will seek and accept these individuals. In other words, the Nelson-Hatch amendment would force plans in the exchange to make a difficult choice: either offer their product to 75 percent of consumers in the marketplace or offer abortion services in their benefits package. It seems clear which choice they would make.

Stupak-Pitts and Nelson-Hatch supporters claim that women who require subsidies to help pay for their insurance plan would have abortion access through the option of purchasing a “rider,” but this is a false promise. According to the respected National Women’s Law Center, in the five states that require a separate rider for abortion coverage, there is no evidence that plans offer these riders. In fact, in North Dakota, which has this policy, the private plan that holds the state’s overwhelming share of the health-insurance market (91 percent) does not offer such a rider. Furthermore, the state insurance department has no record of abortion riders from any of the five leading individual insurance plans from at least the past decade. Nothing in this amendment would ensure that rider policies are available or affordable to the more than 75 percent of individuals who will receive federal subsidies in order to help purchase coverage in the new exchange.

Opposition to the Nelson/Hatch Amendment

2009-12-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

Sen. Ben Nelson D-Nebraska along with Sen. Orrin Hatch R-Utah got their way and introduced their version of the Stupak/Pitts amendment. This attack on women’s reproductive health has to be met with a fierce pro-choice defense of women’s rights.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski wins quote of the day when she addressed the idea of an optional abortion coverage rider: "How about letting men buy an abortion rider for the women they get pregnant. . . Maybe we'll give them a discount." Her reason for this is she feels (rightfully so) that this type of rider is discriminatory, demonizing and insulting to women and that no woman ever plans on having an abortion. RH Reality Check goes into much greater detail on this: http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2009/12/08/roundup-an-amendment-any-other-names-smells-just-bad

Minnesota’s own Senator Al Franken also addresses this amendment:

"Madame President, I rise today to speak in opposition to the Nelson-Hatch amendment which replaces the compromise language in the current bill with unprecedented restrictions on women's access to safe and legal abortion services. I think we can all agree that women's health is fundamental to our nation's health. We all know that when women are healthier, families communities and countries are healthier. But I also know that the issue of abortion is difficult, no matter where you stand on it. And I truly respect the fact that we have a range of opinions among us here.

Women have abortions for different reasons. Some of these reasons may not seem right to some of us. But even if we disagree, it is better that each woman be able to make her own decision with her doctor. In a perfect world, no woman should have to face the decisions we are discussing today. But the reason we have insurance coverage is to deal with the unexpected. And no woman expects to have an unplanned pregnancy, and no woman expects to end a wanted pregnancy because of fetal anomalies, a risk to her own health. If we limit options in private health insurance coverage, we take away a woman's right to make a decision that may be right for her and her family in their circumstances.

But unplanned pregnancies do occur. And we have a responsibility to supply women, to provide women with the full range of choices regarding their health. The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled on this issue and made it clear that women have a constitutional right to access abortion. It's our responsibility that abortions are safe, legal and rare.

Supporting a woman's right to make decisions about her health means more than keeping abortion services legal. It means supporting a woman's decision to terminate a pregnancy safely and with dignity. It also means teaching honest, realistic sex education. It means the right to choose contraception. It means standing with women who choose to continue their pregnancies with the hope and expectation that a compassionate society will support them in their responsibility in raising a child. It's about respecting women's personal decisions and challenges they face, especially in times when they are the most vulnerable.

I strongly oppose the Nelson-Hatch amendment because it strongly undermines the status quo and breaks new ground by restricting women's fundamental rights. The amendment stipulates that health plans cannot cover abortion services if they accept even one subsidized customer, even if the abortion coverage would be paid with the private premiums that health plans receive directly from individuals.

If adopted, this would mark the first time in federal law that we would restrict how individuals can use their own dollars in the private health insurance marketplace. I also oppose the amendment because we have a workable solution. The existing compromise in our bill represents genuine concessions by both prochoice and prolife members of Congress. The current bill prohibits federal funding of abortion but also allows women to pay for abortion coverage with their own private funds. It makes clear that abortion can't be mandated or prohibited and stipulates that federal funds cannot be used for abortion.

Let me be clear. The compromise in the current bill is as far as we can go. We have negotiated to get to this point and we cannot negotiate further without literally undermining the compromise that we have made on behalf of women's health in this country.

We are on the verge of passing a historic health reform law that will do more to improve the health of women and families than any legislation in recent history. We will end discrimination based on health history, on gender, or on history of domestic violence. We will provide access to preventive health services so women can get annual exams and mammograms at no cost. And it is our responsibility to guarantee that women are not worse off under the health reform we're going to pass. That they're not worse off than they are today.

As my friend Paul Wellstone used to say, if we don't fight hard enough for the things we stand for, at some point we have to recognize that we don't really stand for them. I urge my colleagues to stand with me today to oppose this amendment. I yield the floor."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6WqLZWW-nc

Abortion Coverage Ban introduced in Senate!

2009-12-07T12:31:00.000-08:00

Sen. Nelson’s anti-abortion coverage amendment has been introduced. This is a Senate version of the Stupak/Pitts amendment. Call Senators Klobuchar and Franken and have them Vote "NO"! 202-224-3121

https://secure.prochoiceamerica.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=4011

NARAL Pro-Choice America Takes Campaign Against Anti-Choice Attacks to the Airwaves

2009-12-04T08:09:00.000-08:00

Ad featuring Rep. Bart Stupak starts running tomorrow

Washington, D.C. – Building on its lobbying, education, and grassroots mobilization efforts around health-care reform, NARAL Pro-Choice America released a television spot urging Americans to call on Congress to reject anti-choice attacks from politicians like Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.).
The ad is set to begin in key mid-sized media markets, including Richmond, Va., Raleigh, N.C., and the Portland and Bangor markets in Maine. In addition, the ad will run in multiple markets in Michigan and other state markets that air in Rep. Stupak’s congressional district.
The ad comes as the Senate debates health reform, and anti-choice senators threaten to offer an amendment similar to the Stupak amendment that passed the House.
“This ad is another important step in our efforts to keep women from losing ground in the new health-care system,” said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. “More and more Americans are joining us in calling on Congress to reject the divisive efforts by Rep. Stupak and other politicians to use abortion to derail health reform. This targeted ad will help us enlist even more Americans into our campaign to defeat the Stupak abortion-coverage ban.”
The Stupak-Pitts amendment, added to the House health bill before its passage, would make it virtually impossible for private insurance companies that participate in the new system to offer abortion coverage to women. This would have the effect of denying women the right to use their own, private funds to purchase an insurance plan with abortion coverage in the new health system — a radical departure from the status quo. Currently, more than 85 percent of private-insurance plans cover abortion services.
NARAL Pro-Choice America’s ad represents the group’s next phase of mobilization on health-care reform. On December 2, the organization and many of its state affiliates participated in a grassroots lobby day on Capitol Hill, which called on the Senate to say “no” to the Stupak language. Prior to that, on November 23, the organization delivered a petition with 97,128 signatures to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, calling on the Senate to keep the Stupak-Pitts language out of its bill. More than 229,000 NARAL Pro-Choice America and state affiliate activists called, wrote to, and visited their lawmakers during the summer months, and the media have reported on NARAL Pro-Choice America's other mobilization efforts, including automated calls and volunteer-led phone banks in 20 states.
View NARAL Pro-Choice America's television ad.
View the fact sheet about the ad.

Rally to Stop the Abortion Coverage Ban is Tomorrow!

2009-12-01T10:19:00.000-08:00

Don’t forget to come to the Capitol at 12:00 on December 2nd to say NO to the Abortion Coverage Ban!

We cannot be silent while our elected representation attempts to strip women of their reproductive rights! Anti-choice politicians are working to get the Stupak-Pitts language into the Senate version of the health-reform bill. The Pro-Choice voice cannot be silent about women being sacrificed to get health care reform passed! We will be gathering at the Minnesota State Capitol to stand in solidarity with the National Day of Action in Washington, D.C.

Stand with the Minnesota Choice Coalition on Wednesday December 2nd at 12:00 p.m. and demand that our lawmakers defend women’s reproductive health while passing meaningful health care reform!What: Rally to Stop the Abortion Coverage Ban
Where: Minnesota State Capitol Rotunda
When: Wednesday December 2nd from 12-12:30
Who: You and the Pro-Choice Community
Why: Because we cannot allow Anti-Choice Legislators to use abortion rights to derail health care reform!

We'll have some signs at the event but please feel free to bring your own. Just remember NO sticks on your signs, Capitol Security will take them away.

This link has directions to the Capitol, parking info, and other useful information. http://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/faq/faqtoc.asp?subject=14

The generation gap and the future of choice

2009-11-30T12:26:00.000-08:00

The New York Times, featuring Nancy Keenan looks at the generational divide on choice and how it affects issues like health-care reform:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/weekinreview/29stolberg.html?_r=1

Rally to Stop the Abortion Coverage Ban!

2009-11-24T10:01:00.000-08:00

Rally to Stop the Abortion Coverage Ban!
By now you’ve heard that the U.S. House has adopted the most restrictive abortion language since before Roe v. Wade. This ban represents a radical departure from the status quo because it would block women’s access to abortion coverage in the new health system. Anti-Choice Legislators in the Senate have said they will introduce similar language health care debate.

We cannot be silent while our elected representation attempts to strip women of their reproductive rights! Anti-choice politicians are working to get the Stupak-Pitts language into the Senate version of the health-reform bill. The Pro-Choice voice cannot be silent about women being sacrificed to get health care reform passed! We will be gathering at the Minnesota State Capitol to stand in solidarity with the National Day of Action in Washington, D.C.

Please join the Minnesota Choice Coalition on Wednesday December 2nd at 12:00 p.m. and demand that our lawmakers defend women’s reproductive health while passing meaningful health care reform!

What: Rally to Stop the Abortion Coverage Ban
Where: Minnesota State Capitol Rotunda
When: Wednesday December 2nd from 12-12:30
Who: You and the Pro-Choice Community
Why: Because we cannot allow Anti-Choice Legislators to use abortion rights to derail health care reform!

NARAL Pro-Choice America Statement on Senate Health-Care Bill

2009-11-19T10:09:00.001-08:00

Washington, D.C. – Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said she is encouraged that the Senate bill does not include the extreme new anti-choice restrictions adopted by the U.S. House. However, the legislation includes a compromise that continues existing laws that unfairly single out abortion care, including a ban on federal funding.

On Monday, Keenan delivered a petition with 97,218 signatures to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, calling on the Senate to keep the egregious Stupak-Pitts language in the House bill out of the Senate version. Keenan vowed to continue to mobilize her organization’s members to fight anti-choice senators’ plans to push additional anti-choice attacks as the legislation moves forward.

“America’s pro-choice majority is speaking up loudly and clearly,” Keenan said. “Our goal is to ensure that women do not lose ground in the new health-care system and that attempts to expand existing restrictions on abortion are defeated. Some anti-choice politicians, such as Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), will follow Rep. Bart Stupak’s example and inject anti-abortion politics into health reform. However, we believe that senators understand that the Stupak amendment in the House bill goes far beyond the status quo and prohibits women from using their own money to buy the insurance coverage they want in the new system. Our activists will continue to remind senators that we’re expecting cooler heads to prevail at this stage of the process and that means the Stupak language is not an option.”

In addition to the petition delivery, the media have reported on NARAL Pro-Choice America’s other mobilization efforts, including automated calls and volunteer-led phone banks by its state affiliates. As a result of strong member support, the organization now is conducting this mobilization in 20 states.

Stupak/Pitts 101

2009-11-17T12:21:00.000-08:00

You’ve heard all about the Stupak/Pitts amendment, maybe read a few of the articles in last week’s CLN, but what exactly are its implications? Here are the basics:

· It effectively bans coverage for most abortions from all public and private health plans in the Exchange.
· It includes only extremely narrow exceptions including rape or incest or “where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death.”
· Exceptions not included: where the health but not the life of the woman is threatened by the pregnancy, severe fetal abnormalities, mental illness or anguish that will lead to suicide or self-harm, and others.
· It allows women to purchase a useless abortion “rider” which Stupak compares to purchasing eye or dental insurance. Saying women should purchase specific coverage for abortion is the same as asking women to plan for an unplanned pregnancy. Yes, it’s really that ironic.

When President Obama first started lobbying for healthcare reform, his platform was that people could keep the coverage they already had. This amendment endangers abortion coverage that women already have which goes directly against the goal of “reform”. Obama explains, “I laid out a very simple principle, which is this is a health care bill, not an abortion bill.” The Stupak/Pitts amendment affectively makes members of congress choose between abortion coverage and healthcare reform. Legislators are being told that they can either vote to effectively ban abortion, or they can block health care reform and potentially harm millions of Americans.

And so the Senate Healthcare Saga Begins…

There’s already talk of anti-abortion language a la Stupak/Pitts in the Senate debate and therefore already strong opposition against such restrictions. Minnesota’s own Klobuchar and Franken have already spoken out against a senate version of this anti-choice amendment. Al Franken quotes "I am not happy with it. I mean it basically says that a woman cannot buy a policy on the exchange that covers abortion… even with [her] own money, and I think that that is not right and we will try to change it."

Some senators are saying they will not vote for any healthcare bill with this language. Others are speaking out saying they will not vote for any healthcare bill without this language. With this tension possibly even stronger and more palpable than its counterpart in the House, it’s certain that abortion rights and women’s health will continue to be a bargaining chip in the Senate healthcare debate. Stay tuned…

Today is your day to give the gift of choice!

2009-11-17T07:29:00.001-08:00

Through a new initiative for non-profits in Minnesota, any gift made online on Tuesday, November 17 through http://www.razoo.com/story/Naral-Pro-Choice-Minnesota-Foundation will be matched with a portion of a $500,000 grant.
Want to stretch your donation dollars? Today is the day to maximize your money and help us fight for the future of reproductive freedom in Minnesota.

I urge you to make a tax-deductible, year-end gift to NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota Foundation TODAY. All donations given between 8 a.m. Tuesday, November 17, and 8 a.m. Wednesday, November 18, are eligible.

Your gift will make reproductive freedom a reality.

Thank you,
Linnea House
Executive Director
NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota Foundation